Anthropogenic global challenges and environmental pressures are increasingly significant. Developing pro-environmental behavior and geoethics is crucial for enhancing awareness, action capability, and respect for natural systems. UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) play a vital role in conserving geological and biological diversity while aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This quasi-experimental study, conducted during the 4th Summer School of Environmental Education on Geotopes and Sustainability at the Sitia UGGp, uses a pre–post design and comprehensive questionnaire to explore changes in participants’ sense of place and geoethical awareness. Results indicate significant improvements in place attachment, place meaning, and geoethical awareness. These findings suggest that stronger emotional bonds and deeper personal meanings related to the Sitia UGGp correlate with increased geoethical awareness. This research highlights the role of psychological connections in influencing geoenvironmental ethics and underscores the importance of place-based emotional and cognitive bonds in fostering geoethical thinking. However, this study’s limited sample size and the specific geographic context of Sitia UGGp may limit the generalizability of the findings. Despite these limitations, this study provides insights into the interplay of emotions, meanings, and geoethics within the sustainability and resilience spectrum.

Η μελέτη αντιμετωπίζει το πρόβλημα της ασάφειας στη χρήση του όρου Ιουδαίοι και των υποκατηγοριών του (κυρίως πιστεύοντες Ιουδαίοι, Φαρισαίοι, Ιεροσολυμίτες, άλλοι, κόσμος και όχλος) στα κεφ. 7-8 του κατά Ιωάννην Ευαγγελίου. Τα κεφάλαια αυτά, και πρωτίστως ο στίχος 8:44, περιλαμβάνουν ορισμένους από τους πλέον οξείς αντιιουδαϊκούς χαρακτηρισμούς στην ιστορία του Χριστιανισμού και έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί διαχρονικά προκειμένου να θεμελιώσουν αντιιουδαϊκές θέσεις και συμπεριφορές. Σκοπός της μελέτης είναι η αποσαφήνιση της ταυτότητας των εκάστοτε συνομιλητών του Ιησού στα κεφ. 7-8 και των μεταβαλλόμενων τοποθετήσεών τους απέναντί του. Το θέμα προσεγγίζεται από τη σκοπιά της αφηγηματικής κριτικής. Η μελέτη διαιρείται με βάση την αφηγηματική δομή του κειμένου (7:1-9, 10-44, 45-52; 8:12-59). Συμπερασματικά προκύπτει ότι η εναλλαγή των συνομιλητών του Ιησού και η ενίοτε ασάφειά τους εξυπηρετεί τον στόχο του ευαγγελιστή να τους αφήσει σε κάποιον βαθμό απροσδιόριστους, ώστε τελικά να τους προβάλει συνολικά ως εκπροσώπους του αντίθεου κόσμου. Παρατηρείται επίσης ότι η εχθρότητα όλων των αναφερόμενων στο κείμενο ιουδαϊκών ομάδων, καθώς και των Ιουδαίων συνολικά, έναντι του Ιησού αυξάνεται σταδιακά και κορυφώνεται στις εκ μέρους τους απόπειρες σύλληψης και λιθοβολισμού του, χωρίς βέβαια να αποκλείεται και η ύπαρξη κάποιας ομάδας, η οποία απλώς δεν εκδηλώνει τη διαφωνία της με τις απόπειρες αυτές). Ωστόσο είναι σαφές ότι τα κεφάλαια 7-8 δεν λένε την τελευταία λέξη για την τοποθέτηση των Ιουδαίων και των υποκατηγοριών τους έναντι του Ιησού. Αντίθετα, θεωρούμενο συνολικά το κατά Ιωάννην Ευαγγέλιο, δείχνει ότι η εξέλιξη της στάσης αυτών των ομάδων έναντι του Ιησού, και επομένως η σωτηρία τους, παραμένει ανοικτή υπόθεση, όχι μόνο εντός, αλλά ακόμη και εκτός του κόσμου της αφήγησης. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι η εν προκειμένω αποτυχία των Ιουδαίων να πιστέψουν αληθινά στον Ιησού και η εχθρότητά τους απέναντί του δεν αποτελούν παρά ένα επιμέρους επεισόδιο σε μια συνεχιζόμενη πορεία, η οποία μπορεί τελικά να οδηγήσει πολλούς εξ αυτών στην πίστη. Επομένως, είναι παντελώς εσφαλμένη η θεώρηση του συγκεκριμένου κειμένου ως μιας στατικής και οριστικής καταδίκης των Ιουδαίων από τον ευαγγελιστή.The study addresses the issue of ambiguity in the use of the term "Jews" and its subcategories (mainly "believing Jews," "Pharisees," "Jerusalemites," "others," the "world," and the "crowd") in chapters 7-8 of the Gospel of John. These chapters, particularly verse 8:44, contain some of the most acute anti-Jewish characterizations in the history of Christianity and have been used over time to justify anti-Jewish positions and behaviors. The study aims to clarify the identity of Jesus' interlocutors in chapters 7-8 and their changing attitudes towards him. The topic is approached from a narrative-critical perspective. The study is divided based on the text's narrative structure (7:1-9, 10-44, 45-52; 8:12-59). In conclusion, the alternation of Jesus' interlocutors and their occasional ambiguity serves the evangelist's goal of leaving them undefined to a certain degree, thus presenting them collectively as representatives of the godless world. It is also observed that the hostility of all the Jewish groups mentioned in the text, as well as the "Jews" as a whole, towards Jesus gradually increases and culminates in their attempts to arrest and stone him, although the existence of a silent group that disagrees with these attempts is not excluded. However, it is clear that chapters 7-8 do not provide the final word on the "Jews'" and their subcategories' stance towards Jesus. On the contrary, considering the Gospel of John as a whole, the development of these groups' attitudes towards Jesus, and therefore their salvation, remains open, not only within but even outside the narrative world. This means that the "Jews'" failure to truly believe in Jesus and their hostility towards him is merely a part of an ongoing journey, which may ultimately lead many of them to faith. Therefore, it is entirely unjustified to view this text as a static and definitive condemnation of the Jews by the evangelist.

El vocabulario forma parte integral del sistema lingüístico y constituye un indicador importante de la competencia comunicativa del hablante de lengua extranjera. Sin embargo, la evaluación de ese vocabulario es una tarea especialmente compleja debido a las múltiples dimensiones que supone el conocimiento léxico. La prueba de disponibilidad léxica es una herramienta útil al aportar diferentes tipos de información relacionados con los conocimientos léxicos del aprendiz de lengua extranjera. Reconociendo el potencial de dicha herramienta para recoger respuestas pertenecientes a diferentes clases de palabras, el presente estudio persiguió explorar cómo se relacionan las características cognitivas de diferentes centros de interés con la categoría gramatical de las respuestas de aprendices de español como lengua extranjera (ELE) en una prueba de disponibilidad léxica. En concreto, se examinó cómo varía la categoría gramatical de las respuestas a partir de siete estímulos pertenecientes a diferentes categorías cognitivas a medida que se avanza en la competencia lingüística en ELE. Participaron en el estudio 140 estudiantes griegos de ELE de los niveles de referencia A, B y C, quienes llevaron a cabo una prueba de disponibilidad léxica en la modalidad escrita. En dicha prueba, se incluyeron los centros de interés ‘La casa’, ‘Comida y bebida’, ‘Profesiones y oficios’, ‘El campo’, ‘La ciudad’, ‘Celebraciones y fiestas’ y ‘Acciones diarias’. Tras cuantificar las diferentes categorías gramaticales en cada centro de interés en los tres niveles de referencia, los resultados mostraron que la categoría gramatical de las respuestas se ve influida por las características cognitivas tanto de las respuestas como de los centros de interés.

La presse hellénique éditée à Paris initialement en langue grecque voit émerger, à partir de la seconde moitié du xixe siècle, des périodiques rédigés en français. Ce choix peut être imputé aux conditions du paysage médiatique français après 1881 propices à l’émergence de nouveaux titres. L’adoption du français comme langue d’expression reflète également les besoins et les pratiques sociales de la communauté grecque ainsi que sa volonté d’occidentalisation. La langue française est aussi perçue par les éditeurs et journalistes grecs installés à Paris comme un outil susceptible de leur permettre d’intervenir dans le dialogue entamé sur le sort du pays au niveau européen. Quoique très hétérogène, cette presse témoigne des aspirations des émigrés et présente une cohérence idéologique qui détermine largement ses contenus éditoriaux. Elle constitue un puissant vecteur de propagande au service de la nation grecque et devient un lieu actif de transferts culturels entre la France et la Grèce.

El objeto del presente trabajo es examinar cómo el nivel lingüístico de los aprendices de una lengua extranjera afecta a las asociaciones léxicas que realizan estos en su lexicón mental. El lexicón mental es un sistema altamente estructurado y organizado de distintas formas en redes interrelacionadas. Entre las palabras se establecen asociaciones de diferentes tipos (p.e. semánticas, fonológicas, enciclopédicas). No obstante, estas asociaciones no son estables, ya que el lexicón mental es un sistema dinámico que crece y se reorganiza cada vez que se almacena una nueva unidad léxica o cada vez que se aprende una nueva información sobre una palabra ya almacenada. Con el fin de examinar dichas asociaciones y su evolución, utilizamos una prueba asociativa, la cual permite la activación del léxico productivo mediante una palabra estímulo, haciendo posible de este modo la observación de cómo se organiza el lexicón mental. En nuestro trabajo sometemos a dos grupos de participantes de diferente nivel lingüístico a la realización de una prueba de disponibilidad léxica. Más específicamente, analizamos las respuestas de un grupo de alumnos griegos de ELE de nivel B1 y otro de nivel C1. Evaluamos aspectos cuantitativos y cualitativos de las respuestas en el centro de interés “Comida y bebida”. Los resultados del estudio indican que el nivel lingüístico en lengua extranjera afecta a la cantidad de las asociaciones léxicas realizadas por los participantes, mientras que no influye de una manera decisiva en el tipo de asociaciones léxicas generadas.

FurE is a H symporter specific for the cellular uptake of uric acid, allantoin, uracil, and toxic nucleobase analogues in the fungus nidulans. Being member of the NCS1 protein family, FurE is structurally related to the APC-superfamily of transporters. APC-type transporters are characterised by a 5+5 inverted repeat fold made of ten transmembrane segments (TMS1-10) and function through the rocking-bundle mechanism. Most APC-type transporters possess two extra C-terminal TMS segments (TMS11-12), the function of which remains elusive. Here we present a systematic mutational analysis of TMS11-12 of FurE and show that two specific aromatic residues in TMS12, Trp473 and Tyr484, are essential for ER-exit and trafficking to the plasma membrane (PM). Molecular modeling shows that Trp473 and Tyr484 might be essential through dynamic interactions with residues in TMS2 (Leu91), TMS3 (Phe111), TMS10 (Val404, Asp406) and other aromatic residues in TMS12. Genetic analysis confirms the essential role of Phe111, Asp406 and TMS12 aromatic residues in FurE ER-exit. We further show that co-expression of FurE-Y484F or FurE-W473A with wild-type FurE leads to a dominant negative phenotype, compatible with the concept that FurE molecules oligomerize or partition in specific microdomains to achieve concentrative ER-exit and traffic to the PM. Importantly, truncated FurE versions lacking TMS11-12 are unable to reproduce a negative effect on the trafficking of co-expressed wild-type FurE. Overall, we show that TMS11-12 acts as an intramolecular chaperone for proper FurE folding, which seems to provide a structural code for FurE partitioning in ER-exit sites.

Context. Recent associations of high-energy neutrinos with active galactic nuclei (AGN) have revived the interest in leptohadronic models of radiation from astrophysical sources. The rapid increase in the amount of acquired multi-messenger data will require fast numerical models that may be applied to large source samples. Aims: We develop a time-dependent leptohadronic code, LeHaMoC, that offers several notable benefits compared to other existing codes, such as versatility and speed. Methods: LeHaMoC solves the Fokker-Planck equations of photons and relativistic particles (i.e. electrons, positrons, protons, and neutrinos) produced in a homogeneous magnetized source that may also be expanding. The code utilizes a fully implicit difference scheme that allows fast computation of steady-state and dynamically evolving physical problems. Results: We first present test cases where we compare the numerical results obtained with LeHaMoC against exact analytical solutions and numerical results computed with ATHEvA, a well-tested code of similar philosophy but a different numerical implementation. We find a good agreement (within 10-30%) with the numerical results obtained with ATHEvA without evidence of systematic differences. We then demonstrate the capabilities of the code through illustrative examples. First, we fit the spectral energy distribution from a jetted AGN in the context of a synchrotron-self Compton model and a proton-synchrotron model using Bayesian inference. Second, we compute the high-energy neutrino signal and the electromagnetic cascade induced by hadronic interactions in the corona of NGC 1068. Conclusions: LeHaMoC is easily customized to model a variety of high-energy astrophysical sources and has the potential to become a widely utilized tool in multi-messenger astrophysics. Instructions for downloading the code, accessing online documentation, and reproducing applications presented in this paper can be found at https://github.com/mariapetro/LeHaMoC Github repository.

LeHaMoC simulates high-energy astrophysical sources. It simulates the behavior of relativistic pairs, protons interacting with magnetic fields, and photons in a spherical region. The package contains numerous physical processes, including synchrotron emission and self-absorption, inverse Compton scattering, photon-photon pair production, and adiabatic losses. It also includes proton-photon pion production, proton-photon (Bethe-Heitler) pair production, and proton-proton collisions. LeHaMoC can model expanding spherical sources with a variable magnetic field strength. In addition, three types of external radiation fields can be defined: grey body or black body, power-law, and tabulated.

Plasmonic photocatalysis based on metal-semiconductor heterojunctions is considered a key strategy to evade the inherent limitations of poor light harvesting and charge separation of semiconductor photocatalysts. It can be profitably combined with three-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) that offer an ideal scaffold for loading plasmonic nanoparticles and a unique architecture to intensify photon capture. In this work{,} Mo-doped BiVO4 inverse opals were applied as visible light-responsive photonic hosts of Ag and/or Au plasmonic nanoparticles in order to exploit the synergy of plasmonic and photonic amplification effects with interfacial charge transfer for the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of recalcitrant pharmaceutical contaminants under visible light. Photoelectrochemical evaluation indicated a major contribution from hot spot-assisted local field enhancement{,} most pronounced for Ag/Mo-BiVO4 PCs due to the spectral overlap of the localized surface plasmon resonance with the electronic absorption and blue-edge slow photon region of Mo-BiVO4 PCs{,} in contrast to weak plasmonic sensitization effects for the Au-modified PCs. The diverse band alignment at the metal-semiconductor interfaces resulted in the enhanced photoelectrocatalytic degradation of tetracycline broad spectrum antibiotic by Ag/Mo-BiVO4 and the refractory ibuprofen drug by (Ag{,}Au)/Mo-BiVO4{,} attributed to the enhanced charge separation by electron transfer toward Ag nanoparticles. Combination of visible light activated semiconductor PCs and plasmonic nanoparticles with suitable band alignment and photonic band gap may provide a versatile approach for the rational design of efficient plasmonic-photonic photoeletrocatalysts.

A minimalist approach to the linear stability problem in fluid dynamics is developed that ensures efficiency by utilizing only the essential elements required to find the eigenvalues for given boundary conditions. It is shown that the problem is equivalent to a single first-order ordinary differential equation, and that studying the argument of the unknown complex function in the eigenvalue space is sufficient to find the dispersion relation. The method is applied to a model for relativistic magnetized astrophysical jets.

In this study, we attempt to provide insight into the complex interplay between loneliness/solitude and the writing gift from the early years of life. Theories and research on giftedness, loneliness/solitude, and on the links between them suggest that creative literary production and loneliness/solitude are associated. To further illustrate these associations, we briefly discuss loneliness and solitude in childhood, adult life, and work of four gifted writers: Hans Christian Andersen, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Beatrix Helen Potter. The theoretical framework of this study is twofold: various psychoanalytic formulations and Bruner’s social constructivist and intersubjective conceptualisation of the narrative gift. The main conclusion of this study is that gifted writers have, paradoxically, an intense experience of both painful and beneficial aloneness, which is the inevitable outcome of the writing gift but also becomes the inspiration and motive force for ars poetica.

The recent unprecedented progress in ageing research and drug discovery brings together fundamental research and clinical applications to advance the goal of promoting healthy longevity in the human population. We, from the gathering at the Aging Research and Drug Discovery Meeting in 2023, summarised the latest developments in healthspan biotechnology, with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), biomarkers and clocks, geroscience, and clinical trials and interventions for healthy longevity. Moreover, we provide an overview of academic research and the biotech industry focused on targeting ageing as the root of age-related diseases to combat multimorbidity and extend healthspan. We propose that the integration of generative AI, cutting-edge biological technology, and longevity medicine is essential for extending the productive and healthy human lifespan.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder representing a major burden on families and society. Some of the main pathological hallmarks of AD are the accumulation of amyloid plaques (Aβ) and tau neurofibrillary tangles. However, it is still unclear how Aβ and tau aggregates promote specific phenotypic outcomes and lead to excessive oxidative DNA damage, neuronal cell death and eventually to loss of memory. Here we utilized a Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model of human tauopathy to investigate the role of DNA glycosylases in disease development and progression. Transgenic nematodes expressing a pro-aggregate form of tau displayed altered mitochondrial content, decreased lifespan, and cognitive dysfunction. Genetic ablation of either of the two DNA glycosylases found in C. elegans, NTH-1 and UNG-1, improved mitochondrial function, lifespan, and memory impairment. NTH-1 depletion resulted in a dramatic increase of differentially expressed genes, which was not apparent in UNG-1 deficient nematodes. Our findings clearly show that in addition to its enzymatic activity, NTH-1 has non-canonical functions highlighting its modulation as a potential therapeutic intervention to tackle tau-mediated pathology.

Mitophagy, the selective removal of dysfunctional mitochondria, is pivotal for the maintenance of neuronal function and survival. MEC-12/α-tubulin contributes to neuronal physiology through the regulation of microtubule assembly, intracellular transport and mitochondrial distribution. However, its role in mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy remains obscure. Here, we demonstrate that MEC-12 influences mitochondrial morphology under basal conditions and regulates the axonal mitochondrial population. Impairment of MEC-12 results in compromised axonal mitophagy under both basal conditions and oxidative stress. Our results uncover the critical role of MEC-12/α-tubulin for maintaining a healthy mitochondrial population in axons and highlight the complex interplay between microtubules, mitophagy and neuronal health.

Unhealthy aging poses a global challenge with profound healthcare and socioeconomic implications. Slowing down the aging process offers a promising approach to reduce the burden of a number of age-related diseases, such as dementia, and promoting healthy longevity in the old population. In response to the challenge of the aging population and with a view to the future, Norway and the United Kingdom are fostering collaborations, supported by a "Money Follows Cooperation agreement" between the 2 nations. The inaugural Norway-UK joint meeting on aging and dementia gathered leading experts on aging and dementia from the 2 nations to share their latest discoveries in related fields. Since aging is an international challenge, and to foster collaborations, we also invited leading scholars from 11 additional countries to join this event. This report provides a summary of the conference, highlighting recent progress on molecular aging mechanisms, genetic risk factors, DNA damage and repair, mitophagy, autophagy, as well as progress on a series of clinical trials (eg, using NAD+ precursors). The meeting facilitated dialogue among policymakers, administrative leaders, researchers, and clinical experts, aiming to promote international research collaborations and to translate findings into clinical applications and interventions to advance healthy aging.

The use of nature-based solutions (NbS) to address the risks posed by hydro-meteorological hazards have not yet become part of the mainstream policy response, and one of the main reasons cited for this, is the lack of evidence that they can effectively reduce disaster risk. This paper addresses this issue, by providing model-based evidence from five European case studies which demonstrate the effectiveness of five different NbS in reducing the magnitude of the hazard and thus risk, in present-day and possible future climates. In OAL-Austria, the hazard is a deep-seated landslide, and the NbS analysed is afforestation. Modelling results show that in today's climate and a landcover scenario of mature forest, a reduction in landslide velocity of 27.6% could be achieved. In OAL-Germany, the hazard is river flooding and the NbS analysed is managed grazing with removal of woody vegetation. Modelling results show that the NbS could potentially reduce maximum flood water depth in the near-future (2031-2060) and far-future (2070-2099), by 0.036m and 0.155m, respectively. In OAL-Greece, the hazard is river flooding, and the NbS is upscaled natural storage reservoirs. Modelling results show that in a possible future climate the upscaled NbS show most potential in reducing the total flooded area by up to 1.26 km2. In OAL-Ireland, the hazard is surface and river flooding, and the NbS is green roofs. Results from a modelled upscaling analysis under two different climate scenarios show that both maximum flood water depth, and total flooded area were able to be reduced. In OAL-UK, the hazard is shallow landslides, and the NbS is high-density planting of two different tree species. Modelling results under two different climate scenarios show that both tree species were able to improve slope stability, and that this increased over time as the NbS matured. The significance of these results is discussed within the context of the performance of the NbS over time, to different magnitude type events, impact with stakeholders in engendering wider support for the adoption of the NbS in the OALs, and the uncertainty in the modelling analyses.

This study aims to address the challenges associated with rockfall assessment and monitoring, focusing on the coastal cliffs of “Navagio Shipwreck Beach” in Zakynthos. A complete time-series analysis was conducted using state-of-the-art methodologies including a 2020 survey using unmanned aerial systems (UASs) and two subsequent surveys, incorporating terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and UAS survey techniques in 2023. Achieving high precision and accuracy in georeferencing involving direct georeferencing, the utilization of pseudo ground control points (pGCPs), and integrating post-processing kinematics (PPK) with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) permanent stations’ RINEX data is necessary for co-registering the multitemporal models effectively. For the change detection analysis, UAS surveys were utilized, employing the multiscale model-to-model cloud comparison (M3C2) algorithm, while TLS data were used in a validation methodology due to their very high-resolution model. The synergy of these advanced technologies and methodologies offers a comprehensive understanding of rockfall dynamics, aiding in effective assessment and monitoring strategies for coastal cliffs prone to rockfall risk.

Museums are called to respond to contemporary challenges and contribute to the formation of more progressive societies. One of the major challenges of our time is climate change and sustainability, and museums could construct cocreated narratives around climate and implement targeted actions for the audiences through their sensorial and affective experiences. More specifically, Geology and Paleontology museums are repositories of knowledge on geoheritage and geoconservation, recognized for their scientific, pedagogical, cultural, and recreational values. The educational potential of geological and paleontological exhibits could be used in informal education activities regarding the climate emergency and the need for sustainability. Taking the above into consideration, this study focuses on both the creation and the evaluation of an educational program for the Natural History Museum of Arsakeio Campus in Psychicko. According to our findings, students really enjoyed their experience in the Museum, gained knowledge regarding mass extinctions driven by climate change, and suggested ways to tackle the current problems and promote our planet’s sustainability.

The pincer complexes [NiIIBr(CNC)]Br (4), [CrIIIBr3(CNC)] (5 a) and [CrIIIBr2.3Cl0.7(CNC)] (5 b), where CNC=3,3′-(pyridine-2,6-diyl)bis(1-mesityl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidin-2-ylidene), were obtained from the novel ligand CNC, generated in situ from the precursor (CHNCH)Br2 and [NiIIBr2(PPh3)2] or from [CrII{N(SiMe3)2}2(THF)2] and (CHNCH)Br2 by aminolysis, respectively. The tetrahedrally distorted square planar (τ4≅0.30) geometry and the singlet ground state of Ni in 4 were attributed to steric constraints of the CNC backbone. Computational methods highlighted the dependence of the coordination geometry and the singlet-triplet energy difference on the size of the N-substituent of the tetrahydropyrimidine wingtips and contrasted it to the situation in 5-membered imidazolin-2-ylidene pincer analogues. The octahedral CrIII metal center in 5 a and 5 b is presumably formed after one electron oxidation from CH2Cl2. 4/MAO and 5 a/MAO were catalysts of moderate activity for the oligomerization and polymerization of ethylene, respectively. The analogous (CH^N^CH)Br2 precursor, where (CH^N^CH)=3,3′-(pyridine-2,6-diylbis(methylene))bis(1-mesityl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidin-1-ium), was also prepared, however its coordination chemistry was not studied due to the inherent instability of the resulting free C^N^C ligand.

Ideas concerning the role, function, and nature of labor unions and their leadership can be found in 19th century economics literature. Even since this early period, a division between orthodox and non-orthodox approaches toward the study of labor unions can be discerned.  The orthodox framework was formed in the late 19th century with the gradual establishment of Marginalism, and it consolidated itself with the dominance of early neoclassical economics. Orthodox economic theory did not devote much attention to the economic analysis of unions. On the contrary and during the same period, non-orthodox economists such as Sidney and Beatrice Webb and early institutionalists (e.g. Richard Ely), had paid considerable attention to the study of unions, perceiving them as politico-economic organizations and emphasizing their wider role as social institutions (McNulty, 1980). The legacy of those two approaches continued in the 20th century and contemporary analyses of labor unions. The orthodox approach (originating mainly from the work of John Dunlop), generally conceives unions as purely economic units, analogous to firms, which can be studied by applying the standard tools of microeconomic theory. In this framework, the notion of union leadership plays a minimum role. In contrast, the non-orthodox viewpoint (originating mainly from Arthur Ross’ works), embraces a holistic, institutional-political-based attitude to labor unionism (Kaufman, 2002).

The aim of this study was to investigate whether an epistemological adequacy (knowledge of the Nature of Science, NOS) contributes to a better understanding and the acceptance of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection (ThENS). It was performed in two parts with the help of two questionnaires: 1. with students of Education, with a minimum familiarity to ThENS and NOS, before and after the application of a general biology course, and 2. with 200 Science Education teachers of various specialties who teach or have taught biology-related subjects. The education students showed some moderate levels of profi ciency regarding NOS that was improved statistically signifi cantly, even after a limited teaching intervention. An interesting founding was that, while their understanding of the ThENS was not very much improved by the course, it was found a positive correlation between their NOS familiarity and acceptance of evolution. As for the Science teachers, besides the above queries, some other variables were additionally investigated: E.g. to what extent, a better Epistemological Adequacy (knowledge of the Nature of Science) can infl uence their understanding and acceptance of the ThENS, or whether this affi liation could have been affected by their college or university instruction. The results showed a positive correlation between their epistemological adequacy and the acceptance and understanding of ThENS.

OBJECTIVE: Nutritional guidelines for postmenopausal women differ. This study aimed to assess postmenopausal women's knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding nutrition during menopause and their dietary habits. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a menopause clinic, and data from 105 women were analyzed. A nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions (KAP) questionnaire was designed, structured, and piloted before implementation, based on the Hellenic dietary guidelines. International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Greek version, MedDietScore, and Menopause-specific Quality of Life questionnaires were administered. RESULTS: The mean ± SD age of the women was 56.9 ± 4.6 years. The mean ± SD KAP score was 12.2 ± 3.5. Those who lived in rural areas had lower KAP scores than those who lived in urban areas ( P = 0.004). Of all the women, 74.5{%} knew the Mediterranean diet pyramid, whereas 9.8{%} knew the Hellenic dietary guidelines. Women who had read the guidelines showed better knowledge of Mediterranean diet food groups (Pearson, 0.309; P = 0.039). Knowledge of dairy services was correlated with consumption of dairy products ( P = 0.002). Furthermore, 76.4{%} were willing to participate in nutrition education programs. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire score was positively correlated with years of smoking ( P = 0.002). Physical activity correlated with adherence to the Mediterranean diet ( P = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of postmenopausal Greek women in this study were unaware of the Hellenic dietary guidelines. In general, women's knowledge of nutrition during menopause was moderate. Greek postmenopausal women are willing to participate in nutrition education programs, which should raise awareness of healthy lifestyles through nutrition, exercise, and smoking cessation.

Accurate modelling of air-sea processes is essential for reliable forecasts of Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones (also known as “Medicanes”). Medicanes occasionally develop in the Mediterranean causing extreme weather conditions with catastrophic potential due to excessive precipitation, windstorms, and coastal flooding. In this work, we investigate how the complexity of ocean-wave-atmosphere coupling and model initialization affect the simulated track and intensity of the Medicane Ianos (2020). Results indicate that the model's initial conditions and the cyclone's development stage are the main drivers of track position errors, while ocean and wave feedback have a significant impact on the intensity and evolution of the cyclone. Compared with an atmosphere-only simulation, an atmosphere-ocean coupled system reproduces the cyclone's SST cooling effect (up to 3.7 °C), in agreement also with the satellite observations thus, reducing the cyclone intensity, as estimated by the minimum MSLP, the 10-m wind speed and the surface enthalpy flux. Adding a wave model to the coupled system, further increases the magnitude of ocean cooling (by about 1.2 °C), due to increased sea surface roughness leading to increased wind stress and enhanced upper ocean mixing. Overall, surface waves are shown to have competing effects on cyclone intensity i.e., negative feedback via increasing the surface momentum flux and positive feedback via increasing the enthalpy flux, the latter being more sensitive to surface roughness rather than to SST modifications brought by the wave coupled system. The turbulent air-sea fluxes under high winds, appear to be very sensitive to sea-state patterns resolved by the coupled models, highlighting the need to improve forecasting systems for extreme weather events in the Mediterranean.

Natural products are attractive components to tailor environmentally friendly advanced new materials. We present surface-confined metallosupramolecular engineering of coordination polymers using natural dyes as molecular building blocks: indigo and the related Tyrian purple. Both building blocks yield identical, well-defined coordination polymers composed of (1 dehydroindigo : 1 Fe) repeat units on two different silver single crystal surfaces. These polymers are characterized atomically by submolecular resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy, bond-resolving atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. On Ag(100) and on Ag(111), the trans configuration of dehydroindigo results in N,O-chelation in the polymer chains. On the more inert Ag(111) surface, the molecules additionally undergo thermally induced isomerization from the trans to the cis configuration and afford N,N- plus O,O-chelation. Density functional theory calculations confirm that the coordination polymers of the cis-isomers on Ag(111) and of the trans-isomers on Ag(100) are energetically favoured. Our results demonstrate post-synthetic linker isomerization in interfacial metal-organic nanosystems.

Theory and experiment went hand in hand in the work of Lord Rayleigh, in which the quest for rigor was a ubiquitous theme. To Rayleigh’s mind, though, and in contrast to mathematicians, physicists could proceed in their investigations without seeking absolute rigor. In his experimental practice, pursuing rigor involved the application of control strategies, which pervaded his work at various levels. Moreover, experimental control had various aims, such as standardizing measurement units in determining the ohm and validating experimental results in the discovery of argon. In the former case, Rayleigh and his team varied the design of their apparatus to control the experimental conditions. Dealing with errors was the main aim of their control practices and lay at the heart of their methodology. In the latter case, control was present in every step of the discovery process: the detection of discrepancies between the densities of atmospheric and “chemical” nitrogen, the identification of argon as a constituent of the atmosphere, and the subsequent exploration of its properties. The aim of this paper is to investigate and contrast the strategies of control employed in those two cases and to clarify their various purposes.

Super-Eddington accretion onto stellar-mass compact objects powers fast outflows in Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources (ULXs). Such outflows, which can reach mildly relativistic velocities, are often observed forming bubble structures. Wind bubbles are expected to develop strong wind termination shocks, sites of great interest for diffusive shock acceleration. We develop a model of diffusive shock acceleration in the wind bubbles powered by ULXs. We find that the maximum energy in these objects can easily reach the PeV range, promoting ULX winds as a new class of PeVatrons. We specialize our model in the context of the Galactic source SS 433 and show that high-energy protons in the bubble might explain the highest energy photons (>100 TeV) and their morphology recently observed by LHAASO. We discuss the detectability of such a source in neutrinos and we analyze the possible radio counterpart of ULXs focusing on the case of W50, the nebula surrounding SS 433. We finally discuss the possible contribution of Galactic ULXs to the cosmic-ray flux at the knee concluding that their role might be substantial.

The Magellanic Clouds are our closest star-forming galaxies with low Galactic foreground absorption. This makes them a unique laboratory to study the population of high-energy sources. The SMC hosts a large population of Be/X-ray binaries associated with high star formation activity 25-40 Myr ago. It has been proposed that the HMXB population in the LMC is associated with more recent star formation. However, due to the large angular extent and resulting insufficient coverage of the LMC, this association with SFR is not well established yet. An essential asset for studying the HMXB population in the entire LMC was the launch of eROSITA. eROSITA scans the sky in great circles crossing at the ecliptic poles. Due to the vicinity of the south-ecliptic pole, sources in the LMC are monitored for up to several weeks during each all-sky survey, leading to a deep total exposure and the possibility of studying long-term temporal behaviour. This allowed us to discover several new HMXBs, verify candidate HMXBs and construct a complete, flux-limited catalogue. During my presentation, I will first focus on HMXB population properties in the LMC. Then I will discuss individual systems we discovered with eROSITA, such as a Be-WD and an SFXT candidate.

The Magellanic Clouds are our closest star-forming galaxies with low Galactic foreground absorption and well determined distances. In addition, a low metallicity environment makes them a unique laboratory to study the population of high-energy sources. The SMC hosts a large population of Be/X-ray binaries associated with high star formation activity 25-40 Myr ago. The HMXB population in the LMC is associated with a star formation period at an earlier epoch and a lower HMXB formation efficiency. The Magellanic Bridge is thought to be a product of the tidal interaction between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC). It contains both gas and stellar components, with young stellar components (therefore HMXBs) which is thought to have formed in situ, as well as an older population of stars (e.g. LMXBs) mostly stripped from the SMC by the LMC. The recent eROSITA all-sky survey marks the first comprehensive X-ray coverage of the entire Magellanic system, offering a broad band X-ray coverage in 0.2-10 keV. Proximity to the south-ecliptic pole facilitates extended monitoring of LMC sources during each survey, enabling a deep total exposure and the exploration of long-term temporal behavior. This presentation will unveil the findings from our study of the X-ray binary population across the entire Magellanic system through the SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey. Additionally, we will showcase unique discoveries, including an X-ray burster in the Magellanic Bridge and an ultra-compact binary system in the direction of the LMC.

PURPOSE: Variants in the GNB1 gene, which encodes for the beta-1 subunit of G proteins, have been associated with intellectual development disorder (OMIM: 616973), characterized by developmental delay, infantile hypotonia, seizures, and psychiatric problems. GNB1 variants may also cause a multisystem disorder, with symptoms such as hearing and vision impairment, gastrointestinal disorders, genitourinary abnormalities, and growth delay. CASE PRESENTATIONS: We present two pediatric patients with two novel GNB1 variants. The first patient is a 12-year old Caucasian European female with a history of neonatal hypotonia, feeding difficulties, and failure to thrive for the first 2 years of life. Subsequently, she developed grade 3 obesity, hyperphagia, and autoimmune thyroiditis. Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) revealed a novel likely pathogenic variant in the GNB1 gene (NM{\_}002074.5:c.93{\_}94del, p.Gln32AspfsTer46), which is predicted to result in a loss or disruption of normal protein function through nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) or protein truncation. The second patient is a 2-year old Roma female with severe failure to thrive during infancy, congenital hypothyroidism, and transient hyperoxaluria. No developmental delay was identified. Genetic testing excluded primary hyperoxaluria and WES revealed to be a novel likely pathogenic variant {\{}NM{\_}002074.5:c.183G {\textgreater} T (NP{\_}002065.1:p.Met61Ile), which is predicted to have a damaging effect on the gene or gene product. CONCLUSION: We present two rare pediatric cases with novel GNB1 variants which highlight the phenotypic variability associated with disrupted GNB1 expression. GNB1 may serve as a candidate gene for severe early onset obesity, hyperphagia, neurodevelopmental delay, and other metabolic and endocrine disorders.}

The Promise of Ecumenical Interpretation pursues its ecumenical goals by allowing the Bible itself to serve as the point of commonality. The volume retains the Bible's centrality as a guideline for individual faith and for the institutional design of churches in the context of contemporary social conflicts. The authors--one Protestant, one Catholic, one Orthodox--present ten unifying theses on the understanding and function of a conception of Scripture under the sign of Sola Scriptura. They agree that only Scripture, when correctly understood, bears witness to good news for everyone, and that only a shared, expectant, and critical turn to Scripture makes sustainable ecumenism possible. This is the basis for bringing biblical insights to the conditions that make community life possible amid the global and local, ecclesiastical and social conflicts of the present.

This paper discusses certain aspects of the dominant cultural heritage discourse in Greece, and their effects on the construction, preservation, and diffusion of public memory; although my case studies will not be archaeological as such, I will be discussing the materialities political power is imbued with, and the ways in which it regenerates itself at their expense (a process in which Greek archaeology often interferes). Focusing on what we generally call “alien monuments,” that is, monuments that do not form part of the hegemonic culture, the paper discusses minority legacies, as they strive to rescue themselves from centrally waged wars on memory, and oblivion.

INTRODUCTION: Tanzania has a high adolescent birth rate and many sexually active adolescents do not have access to effective contraception. Teenage pregnancy is considered a high-risk pregnancy. Furthermore, it leads to social inequalities for both mother and offspring. METHODS: We conducted semistructured interviews with 12 adolescent mothers during their stay in the postnatal ward of the maternity department of a tertiary hospital in Zanzibar. The study took place between November and December 2022. Data were then analyzed qualitatively. RESULTS: The main theme that emerged from the interview data was that pregnancy seemed to affect the lives of young girls in a negative way. The majority of pregnancies were unplanned, and the girls reported low family planning uptake. Another recurring theme was that girls had many οbstacles in their education prior to pregnancy, which left them uncertain about their future. Finally, despite the advice of local doctors, the majority of the girls received minimal prenatal care, mostly because they did not regard obstetric care to be a priority. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent pregnancy remains an important public health issue in Tanzania, despite significant measures by authorities to reduce it. Educational changes and professional opportunities as well as family planning services may enable young girls to achieve professional and personal goals while delaying motherhood into adulthood.

The long-standing tension between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, Greece and Turkey, and their recurrent spats has often made them the subject of Western diplomatic and political attention. There are three external actors, the United States, NATO and the EU which have been particularly interested in Greek-Turkish relations and the security situation in the eastern Mediterranean. Of these three parties NATO has had the least significant role to play, while between the United States and the EU the former has the longer period of involvement in this part of the world and today continues to play a major, though arguably, less committed role. This chapter examines the overall US response to the turbulence between its two allies since the 1950s by placing it within the larger context of US foreign policy.

The synthesis, isolation, and characterisation of well-defined low-valent actinide complexes are reviewed with a main focus on compounds featuring uranium and thorium metal centres in formal oxidation states ≤ +3. The importance of the ligand environment in enabling access to these highly reactive species, as well as its influence on ground state electronic configurations and their reactivity, are emphasised. Furthermore, we highlight cyclic voltammetry (C.V.) studies as a more widely used method that can guide the synthesis of these highly reducing species.

The present paper focuses on the recall of childhood experiences of adults who had at least one parent misusing alcohol and/or drugs. The study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the recall of these experiences in adulthood and their effect on relationships with significant others. Twelve (12) adults, who had experienced as children in their family’s drug and alcohol misuse were interviewed and their interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings of the qualitative study suggest that adults recall in their childhood the reversal of family roles and traumas that seem to affect their current relationships. The research findings indicate the necessity of supporting early enough children who grow up in families where alcohol and drug misuse are part of daily life and to create a therapeutic alliance in adult life in order to advance in their relationship with self and others.

Context. Relativistic shocks are present in all high-energy astrophysical processes involving relativistic plasma outflows interacting with their ambient medium. While they are well understood in the context of relativistic hydrodynamics and ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), there is a limited understanding of the properties related to their propagation in media characterized by finite electrical conductivity. Aims: This work presents a systematic method for the derivation and solution of the jump conditions for relativistic shocks propagating in MHD media with finite electrical conductivity. This method is applied to the numerical solution of the Riemann problem and the determination of the conditions inside the blastwave that is formed when ultrarelativistic magnetized ejecta interact with the circumburst medium during a gamma-ray burst. Methods: We derived the covariant relations expressing the jump conditions in a frame-independent manner. The resulting algebraic equations expressing the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions in the propagation medium's frame were then solved numerically. A variable adiabatic index equation of state was used in order to obtain a realistic description of the post-shock fluid's thermodynamics. This method was then employed for the solution of the Riemann problem for the case of a forward and a reverse shock, both of which form during the interaction of a gamma-ray burst ejecta with the circumburst medium. This allowed us to determine the kinematics of the resulting blastwave and the dynamical conditions in its interior. Results: Our solutions clearly depict the impact of the plasma's electrical conductivity in the properties of the post-shock medium. Two characteristic regimes are identified with respect to the value of a dimensionless parameter that has a linear dependence on the conductivity. For small values of this parameter, the shock affects only the hydrodynamic properties of the propagation medium and leaves its electromagnetic field unaffected. No current layer forms in the shock front; thus, we refer to this as the current-free regime. For large values of this parameter, the ideal MHD regime has been retrieved. We also show that the assumption of a finite electrical conductivity can lead to higher efficiencies in the conversion of the ejecta energy into thermal energy of the blastwave through the reverse shock. The theory developed in this work can be applied to the construction of Riemann solvers for resistive relativistic MHD (RR4MHD).

Alan Weinstein remarked that, working in the framework of diffeology, a construction from Noncommutative Differential Geometry might provide the non-trivial representations required for the geometric quantisation of a symplectic structure which is not integral. In this note we show that the construction we gave with P. Antonini does indeed provide non-trivial representations.

The carnation Dianthus fruticosus L. ssp. fruticosus (Caryophyllaceae) is a range-restricted perennial, endemic plant that grows on cliffs, rocks, ravines, terraces, and boulders on Serifos Island in the Cyclades in the Aegean archipelago (Greece), possessing an impressive, aesthetic blossoming during the dry season. This indigenous carnation of Serifos has attracted the interest of naturalists andscientists. Specimens of this subspecific taxon from the island of Serifos (Greece) were collected during botanical explorations in preindustrial times by the French naturalist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1702) and in the late eighteenth century by the English Professor of Botany at the University of Oxford John Sibthorp (1787). Those specimens, documented in relevant publications and labelled with different names (i.e., Caryophyllus Graecus arboreus and Caryophyllus arboreus Seriphius in the early eighteenth century and Dianthus fruticosus in the early nineteenth century), are related to aspects of vegetation history, linking the past to the present and (most probably) to the future. Today, a thorough understanding of the in situ development and functionality of this endemic carnation is still required, as is a framework of its sustainability and management in small-scale insular habitats. The timeless perception of the emblematic wild carnation Dianthus fruticosus ssp. fruticosus, which is still growing on inland and coastal sites of Serifos and neighboring islands in the Cyclades (Greece), is also a reminder that a native plant is often a repository to which local communities may look when crafting their identity.

The projected increase in the frequency of extreme flood events in the Eastern Mediterranean region signifies profound societal impacts of various types beyond the actual inundated areas and across different sectors. However, the extent and complexity of the various cascade effects remain inadequately understood. This work focuses on collecting new evidence on the types and extent of these cascade effects drawing on recent and historical flood disasters in the region, in an effort to improve our understanding of the nature, the extent, the propagation mechanisms and the consequences of these far-rearching repercussions, Additionally, the study examines the interplay between various impacts to provide insights useful for enhancing preparedness and response strategies to mitigate the associated risks.

This manuscript presents a multidisciplinary study that proposes a methodology for delineating and categorizing vulnerability at rockfall risk areas to avoid human injuries and infrastructure damage caused by rockfalls. The presented workflow includes (i) classical geological mapping, (ii) the interpretation of high-resolution satellite data for observing the spatial distribution of fallen boulders, (iii) analytical hierarchy processing of spatial information within a Geographical Information System (GIS) platform, (iv) close-range remote sensing campaigns with Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), and (v) integrated simulation of rockfall events. This methodology was applied to Kalymnos Island, which belongs to the Dodecanese Islands complex of the southeastern Aegean Sea in Greece. It is characterized by unique geomorphological features, including extensive vertical limestone cliffs that span the island. These cliffs make it one of the world’s most densely concentrated areas for sport climbing. The results highlighted the areas that the local authorities need to focus on and suggested measures for increasing the safety of climbers and infrastructure.

This study investigated the influence of language – first language (L1)versus second language (L2) – on the experience and the expression ofthe emotion of guilt. Fifty-two Greek – Spanish bilinguals read twomoral scenarios that induced guilt in their L2 (Spanish) and rated theintensity with which they felt a series of emotions (moral scenario task).Then they were asked to recall and write about a real-life event thatmade them feel guilty in their L2 (autobiographical memory task). Amonth later they performed the same tasks in their L1. Content analysisand emotional vocabulary analysis were conducted to examine crosslinguisticdifferences in the expression of guilt. Overall, these bilingualsexperienced higher levels of guilt and regret when they read the moralscenarios in their L1 Greek. They also used a greater number of emotionwords in their autobiographical memories in L1. However, theyappeared to be more willing to talk about sensitive topics (e.g.infidelity, homosexuality, and death) in their L2. These findings haveimplications for both psychotherapy and L2 instruction.

Theoretical arguments as well as observations of young stellar objects (YSO) support the presence of a diversified circumstellar environment. A stellar jet is thought to account for most of the stellar spin down and disk wind outflow for the observed high mass loss rate, thus playing a major role in the launching of powerful jets. RY Tau, for instance, is an extensively studied intermediate mass pre-main sequence star. Observational data reveal a small scale jet called microjet. Nevertheless, it is not clear how the microjet shapes the jet observed at a large scale. The goal is to investigate the spatial stability and structure of the central jet at a large scale by mixing the stellar and disk components. We mix two existing analytical self-similar models for the disk and the stellar winds to build the initial set-ups. Instead of using a polytropic equation of state, we map from the analytical solutions, the heating and cooling sources. The heating exchange rate is controlled by two parameters, its spatial extent and its intensity. The central jet and the surrounding disk are strongly affected by these two parameters. We separate the results in three categories, which show different emissivity, temperature, and velocity maps. We reached this categorization by looking at the opening angle of the stellar solution. For cylindrically, well collimated jets, we have opening angles as low as 10 degrees between 8 and 10 au, and for the wider jets, we can reach 30 degrees with a morphology closer to radial solar winds. Our parametric study shows that the less heated the outflow is, the more collimated it appears. We also show that recollimation shocks appear consistently with UV observations in terms of temperature but not density.

The purpose of this research is to create a typology of the long-distance running community of Greece. The sample consisted of 3228 participants/runners in the "Athens Marathon. The Authentic". The variables used for the segmentation included the demographic, social, attitudinal, and behavioral characteristics of the individuals participating in running as a leisure time physical activity. A cluster analysis was implemented using Python K-Mode by creating a code and using the Elbow method because all the variables were categorical. The analysis yields five (5) different clusters, with some similarities but discernible differences, which distinguish each one of the clusters, making them unique. According to the recorded differences, each one of the clusters was assigned a name. The first cluster was named Leisure Health-Oriented Joggers, the second cluster Older Competitive Marathon Runners, the third Health Oriented Experienced Marathon Runners, the fourth Lonely Marathon Runners, and the fifth Sports Oriented Social Marathon Runners.  This is the first-ever presentation of a typology of the Greek running community. Moreover, such a typology could benefit the private and public sectors. Specifically, the segmentation of the running community could influence the sport industry in regard to services, products or merchandise as well as entrepreneurial initiatives. By focusing on the characteristics of each distinctive cluster, the public sector could use this as a guide in planning and implementing new physical activity policies, projects and programs.   Keywords: Marathon, Running movement, Physical Activity, Segmentation, Habits, Attitudes, Sport industry, Market segmentation, Gender gap  

Organometallic complexes of the formula [Ru(N^N)(p-cymene)Cl][X] (N^N = bidentate polypyridyl ligands, p-cymene = 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-benzene, X = counter anion), are currently studied as possible candidates for the potential treatment of cancer. Searching for new organometallic compounds with good to moderate cytotoxic activities, a series of mononuclear water-soluble ruthenium(II)–arene complexes incorporating substituted pyridine–quinoline ligands, with pending -CH2OH, -CO2H and -CO2Me groups in the 4-position of quinoline ring, were synthesized, for the first time, to study their possible effect to modulate the activity of the ruthenium p-cymene complexes. These include the [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(pqhyme)Cl][X] (X = Cl− (1-Cl), PF6− (1-PF6), pqhyme = 4-hydroxymethyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinoline), [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(pqca)Cl][Cl] ((2-Cl), pqca = 4-carboxy-2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinoline), and [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(pqcame)Cl][X] (X = Cl− (3-Cl), PF6− (3-PF6), pqcame = 4-carboxymethyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinoline) complexes, respectively. Identification of the complexes was based on multinuclear NMR and ATR-IR spectroscopic methods, elemental analysis, conductivity measurements, UV–Vis spectroscopic, and ESI-HRMS techniques. The solid-state structures of 1-PF6 and 3-PF6 have been elucidated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealing a three-legged piano stool geometry. This is the first time that the in vitro cytotoxic activities of these complexes are studied. These were conducted in HEK293T (human embryonic kidney cells) and HeLa cells (cervical cancer cells) via the MTT assay. The results show poor in vitro anticancer activities for the HeLa cancer cell lines and 3-Cl proved to be the most potent (IC50 > 80 μΜ). In both cell lines, the cytotoxicity of the ligand precursor pqhyme is significantly higher than that of cisplatin.

Organometallic ruthenium complexes with p-cymene = 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-benzene and N^N = bidentate polypyridyl ligands constitute interesting candidates with biological and catalytic properties. Towards this aim, we have synthesized four ruthenium(II)–arene complexes of the type [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(N^N)Cl][X] (N^N = Br-Qpy = 6-bromo-4-phenyl-2-pyridin-2-yl-quinoline, X = Cl− (1a); PF6− (1b); N^N = OH-Ph-Qpy = 4-(4-phenyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinolin-6-yl)phenol, X = Cl− (2a); PF6− (2b)). This is the first report of ruthenium(II) p-cymene complexes incorporating substituted pyridine–quinoline ligands, with –Br and –C6H4OH groups in the 6-position of quinoline. We also refer to the cytotoxicity of the ligands and their possible effect of modulating the activity of the ruthenium(II) complexes. These were characterized by a combination of spectroscopic methods (ATR-IR, UV–Vis, multinuclear NMR), elemental analysis, and conductivity measurements. The solid-state structure of 2b, determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, reveals a three-legged piano-stool geometry. The in vitro cytotoxic activities of the new complexes were evaluated in HEK293T (human embryonic kidney cells) and in HeLa cells (cervical cancer cells), via the MTT assay. Poor in vitro anticancer activities were observed for the HeLa cancer cell line, with 2a being the most potent (IC50 = 75 μΜ). The cytotoxicity of Br-Qpy in HEK293T is comparable to that of cisplatin. Both complexes 1a and 1b successfully catalyze the transfer hydrogenation of benzophenone to benzhydrol by 2-propanol at 82 °C. The catalytic performance of 1a in the ratio of S:Cat:B = 400:1:40 (S = substrate, Cat = catalyst, B = base = KOiPr) leads to a conversion of 94%, within 3 h of reaction. Presumably, catalytic transformation takes place via ruthenium(II) hydride species being the active catalyst.

Blazars—a subclass of active galaxies—are intrinsically time-variable broadband sources of electromagnetic radiation. In this contribution, we explored relativistic proton (hadronic) signatures in the time domain blazar emission and searched for those parameter combinations that unveil their presence during flaring epochs. We generated time series for key model parameters, like magnetic field strength and the power-law index of radiating particles, which were motivated from a simulated time series with statistical properties describing the observed GeV gamma-ray flux. We chose the TeV blazar Mrk 501 as our test case, as it had been the study ground for extensive investigations during individual flaring events. Using the code LeHaMoC, we computed the electromagnetic and neutrino emissions for a period of several years that contained several flares of interest. We show that for both of those particle distributions the power-law index variations that were tied to moderate changes in the magnetic field strength of the emitting region might naturally lead to hard X-ray flares with very-high-energy γ-ray counterparts. We found spectral differences measurable by the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory at sub-TeV energies, and we computed the neutrino fluence over 14.5 years. The latter predicted ∼0.2 muon and anti-muon neutrinos, consistent with the non-detection of high-energy neutrinos from Mrk 501.

Neuropsychiatric disorders, which are associated with stress hormone dysregulation, occur at different rates in men and women. Moreover, nowadays, preclinical and clinical evidence demonstrates that sex and gender can lead to differences in stress responses that predispose males and females to different expressions of similar pathologies. In this curated review, we focus on what is known about sex differences in classic mechanisms of stress response, such as glucocorticoid hormones and corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), which are components of the hypothalamicpituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis. Then, we present sex differences in neurotransmitter levels, such as serotonin, dopamine, glutamate and GABA, as well as indices of neurodegeneration, such as amyloid β and Tau. Gonadal hormone effects, such as estrogens and testosterone, are also discussed throughout the review. We also review in detail preclinical data investigating sex differences caused by recentlyrecognized regulators of stress and disease, such as the immune system, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, as well neurosteroids. Finally, we discuss how understanding sex differences in stress responses, as well as in pharmacology, can be leveraged into novel, more efficacious therapeutics for all. Based on the supporting evidence, it is obvious that incorporating sex as a biological variable into preclinical research is imperative for the understanding and treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety and Alzheimer's disease.

The paper explores the potential of sound to repoliticize theatre and performance. By examining the activity and dramaturgical practices of the multimedia art collective Medea Electronique (Greece), it highlights contradictions of contemporary art, particularly the continuous transition from ‘everything is political’ to ‘no, not everything is political’ and vice versa. From a post-Brechtian perspective, the political function of art lies in preserving the diverse sensibilities at the core of art’s autonomy. This entails avoiding that art be reduced to a post-political gesture or aligning it too closely with everyday aestheticized experiences.

François-René de Chateaubriand occupe une place particulière dans la mémoire collective de la Grèce moderne. Il est inscrit dans les lettres grecques modernes au double titre de philhellène et d’homme de lettres, aux côtés d’autres écrivains et philhellènes européens tels que Byron et Victor Hugo ou encore Béranger. À sa mort, en juillet 1848, les journaux grecs saluent unanimement un fidèle ami de la Grèce. Mais dans quelle mesure son œuvre littéraire était-elle connue du public grec ? Quelles œuvres étaient traduites et quelle en fut leur réception ? La présente étude tente un premier recensement des traductions grecques de Chateaubriand au XIXe siècle et une périodisation de la présence de son œuvre en Grèce. Si dans un premier temps les lecteurs de Chateaubriand appartiennent à une élite intellectuelle francophone susceptible de pouvoir le lire dans l’original, le cercle des lecteurs s’élargit progressivement grâce notamment à des traductions intégrales mais aussi grâce à des traductions partielles insérées dans les revues littéraires du XIXe siècle.

Remotely sensed data play a crucial role in monitoring the El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is an oceanic-atmospheric phenomenon occurring quasi-periodically with several impacts worldwide, such as specific biological and global climate responses. Since 1980, Earth has witnessed three strong ENSO events (1982–1983, 1997–1998, 2015–2016). In September 2022, La Niña entered its third year and was unlikely to continue through 2024. Instead, since 2022, forecasts have pointed to a transition from La Niña to a Neutral phase in the summer or late 2023. The onset of El Niño occurred around April 2023, and it is anticipated by sophisticated models to be a strong event through the Northern Hemisphere winter (December 2023–February 2024). The aim of this study is to demonstrate the ability of the combination of two new methods to improve the accuracy of the above claim because El Niño apart from climate anomalies, significantly impacts Earth’s ecosystems and human societies, regulating the spread of diseases by insects (e.g., malaria and dengue fever), and influencing nutrients, phytoplankton biomass, and primary productivity. This is done by exploring first the previous major El Niño events in the period January 1876–July 2023. Our calculations show that the ongoing 2023–2024 El Niño will not be the strongest.

In the past two decades, index-near-zero (INZ) modes and materials, with their spatial phase invariance and super coupling, gained increasing attention for applications in all-optical/quantum computing and communication. However, the modulation of INZ modes is typically complex and discontinuous, often achieved through intricate experimental methods, thereby hindering their widespread application. Here, we propose two deep-subwavelength magneto-optical one-way waveguides and discover three broadband tunable INZ modes, exhibiting predict able behavior dependent on the external magnetic field (EMF). By utilizing these INZ modes, we design broadband tunable all-optical phase modulators through straightforward EMF control. The tunable and predictable nature of INZ modes, combined with deep-subwavelength phase modulators, may advance miniaturized all-optical communication and computation.

Metasurfaces are capable of fully reshaping the wavefronts of incident beams in desiredmanners.However,therequirementforexternallightexcitationand the resonant nature of their meta-atoms, make challenging their on-chip integration. Here, we introduce the conceptanddesignofafreshclassof metasurfaces, driven by unidirectional guided waves, capable of arbitrary wavefront control based on the uniquedispersion properties of unidirectional guided waves rather than resonant meta-atoms. Upon experimentally demonstrating the feasibility of our designs in the microwave regime, we numerically validate the introduced principle through the design of several microwave meta-devices using metal-air-gyromagnetic unidirectional surface magneto-plasmons, agilely converting unidirectional guided modes into the wavefrontsof3DBesselbeams,focusedwaves,andcontrollablevortexbeams. We, further, numerically demonstrate sub-diffraction focusing, which is beyond the capability of conventional metasurfaces. Our unfamiliar yet prac tical designs may enable full, broadband manipulation of electromagnetic waves on deep subwavelength scales.

Active tuning of the scattering of particles and metasurfaces is a highly sought-after property for a host of electromagnetic and photonic applications, but it normally requires challenging-to-control tunable (reconfigurable) or active (gain) media. Here, we introduce the concepts of anisotropic virtual gain and oblique Kerker effect, where a completely lossy anisotropic medium behaves exactly as its anisotropic gain counterpart upon excitation by a synthetic complex-frequency wave. The strategy allows one to largely tune the magnitude and angle of a particle’s scattering simply by changing the shape (envelope) of the incoming radiation, rather than by an involved medium-tuning mechanism. The so-attained anisotropic virtual gain enables directional super-scattering at an oblique direction with fine-management of the scattering angle. Our study is based on analytical techniques that allow multipolar decomposition of the scattered field in agreement with full-wave simulations, and lays the foundations for a light management method.

The inevitable feedback between the environmental and energy crisis within the next decades can probably trigger and/or promote a global imbalance in both financial and public health terms. To handle this difficult situation, in the last decades, many different classes of materials have been recruited to assist in the management, production, and storage of so-called clean energy. Probably, ferromagnets, superconductors and ferroelectric/piezoelectric materials stand at the frontline of applications that relate to clean energy. For instance, ferromagnets are usually employed in wind turbines, superconductors are commonly used in storage facilities and ferroelectric/piezoelectric materials are employed for the harvesting of stray energy from the ambient environment. In this work, we focus on the wide family of ferroelectric/piezoelectric materials, reviewing their physical properties in close connection to their application in the field of clean energy. Among other compounds, we focus on the archetypal compound Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (or PZT), which is well studied and thus preferred for its reliable performance in applications. Also, we pay special attention to the advanced ferroelectric relaxor compound (1−x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3−xPbTiO3 (or PMN-xPT) due to its superior performance. The inhomogeneous composition that many kinds of such materials exhibit at the so-called morphotropic phase boundary is reviewed in connection to possible advantages that it may bring when applications are considered.

We aim to identify the key drivers of capital depletion under the adverse scenario by reverse engineering the EU-wide stress tests. Our sample consists of the banks that participated in the 2016, 2018 and 2021 EU-wide stress tests. We use three separate sets of variables, namely the bank-specific indicators, the macroeconomic parameters, and the banks’ exposures per loan portfolio. The results demonstrate that banks that are more profitable, more efficient, smaller, more exposed to corporate clients, less exposed to governments and having booked more impairments beforehand experience lower capital depletion under the adverse scenario. In addition, high rates of inflation imply more severe capital reductions, while high GDP leads to mild capital depletion. The asset mix on banks' balance sheets significantly affects the impact of stress test under the adverse scenario. Results are robust to alternative econometric approaches and provide important implications for both supervisors and banks.

Nanoparticle formation by Spark Discharge Aerosol Generation offers low-cost fabrication of nanoparticles, without the use of chemicals or vacuum. It produces aerosol particles of a few nanometers in size with high purity. In this work, copper-based - CuO (tenorite) and Cu- nanoparticles are produced, characterized and used to modify face mask air filters, achieving the introduction of antibacterial and antiviral properties. A range of characterization techniques have been employed, down to the atomic level. The majority of the particles are CuO (of a few nanometers in size that agglomerate to form aggregates), the remainder being a small number of larger Cu particles. The particles were deposited on various substrates, mainly fiber filters in order to study them and use them as biocidal agents. On face masks, their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E.coli) results in a 100% decrease in bacteria cell viability. Their antiviral activity on face masks results in a 90% reduction of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viability, 15 minutes post the application of the virus stock solution. This highlights the effectiveness of this approach, its simplicity, its low cost and its excellent environmental credentials.

Context. A correlation has been reported between the arrival directions of high-energy IceCube events and γ-ray blazars classified as intermediate- and high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacs. Subsequent studies have investigated the optical properties of these sources, compiled and analyzed public multiwavelength data, and constrained their individual neutrino emission based on public IceCube point-source data. Aims. We provide a theoretical interpretation of public multiwavelength and neutrino point source data for the 32 BL Lac objects in the sample previously associated with an IceCube alert event. We combined the individual source results to draw conclusions regarding the multimesssenger properties of the sample and the required power in relativistic protons. Methods. We performed particle interaction modeling using open-source numerical simulation software. We constrained the model parameters using a novel and unique approach that simultaneously describes the host galaxy contribution, the observed synchrotron peak properties, the average multiwavelength fluxes, and, where possible, the IceCube point source constraints. Results. We show that a single-zone leptohadronic model can describe the multiwavelength broadband fluxes from all 32 IceCube candidates. In some cases, the model suggests that hadronic emission may contribute a considerable fraction of the γ-ray flux. The required power in relativistic protons ranges from a few percent to a factor of ten of the Eddington luminosity, which is energetically less demanding compared to other leptohadronic blazar models in recent literature. The model can describe the 68% confidence level IceCube flux for a large fraction of the masquerading BL Lacs in the sample, including TXS 0506+056; whereas, for true BL Lacs, the model predicts a low neutrino flux in the IceCube sensitivity range. Physically, this distinction is due to the presence of photons from broad line emission in masquerading BL Lacs, which increase the efficiency of hadronic interactions. The predicted neutrino flux peaks between a few petaelectronvolt and 100 PeV and scales positively with the flux in the gigaelectronvolt, megaelectronvolt, X-ray, and optical bands. Based on these results, we provide a list of the brightest neutrino emitters, which can be used for future searches targeting the 10–100 PeV regime.

In this edited volume, renowned scholars from around the globe rethink and update important political communication concepts in the light of the most recent changes that have been occurring in media environments. In particular, the authors discuss those caused by the use of social media in politics, e.g. prevalent disinformation, populism, political polarization, etc. This collection of key texts addresses the major concerns that arise in our rapidly changing media and political environments and provides a basis for discussions on the current state of political communication research. This makes this volume a must-read for students, researchers, and scholars of political communication, interested in a better understanding of key concepts and the current state of the research in the field. 

Static waste heat recovery, by means of thermoelectric generator (TEG) modules, constitutes a fast-growing energy harvesting technology on the way towards greener transportation. Many commercial solutions are already available for small internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, whereas further development and cost reductions of TEG devices expand their applicability at higher-power transportation means (i.e., ships and aircrafts). In this light, the integration of waste heat recovery based on TEG modules in a shipboard distribution network is studied in this work. Several voltage step-up techniques are considered, whereas the most suitable ones are assessed via the LTspice simulation platform. The design procedure of the selected LLC resonant converter is presented and analyzed in detail. Furthermore, a flexible control strategy is proposed, capable of either output voltage regulation (constant voltage) or maximum power point tracking (MPPT), according to the application demands. Finally, both simulations and experiments (on a suitable laboratory testbench) are performed. The obtained measurements indicate the high efficiency that can be achieved with the LLC converter for a wide operating area as well as the functionality and adequate performance of the control scheme in both operating conditions.

Teachers face many issues when trying to integrate digital resources (DR) into mathematics classes. This article applies an identity-based perspective to understand teachers’ roles in the practices that evolve in such classes. We focus on Victor, a Greek mathematics teacher, who, when viewed from levels beyond the classroom, experienced to become a reform-oriented teacher and a designer of DR. We explore how these experiences of professional identity shapes and is shaped by his work with DR at the classroom level. We show how Victor’s identity changed from ‘being a Mathematics teacher who struggles with inquiry-based teaching’ to ‘becoming a mathematics Teacher who uses DR to support inquiry-based learning’ and outline what fuelled these changes. Our results suggest the importance of connecting an identity perspective to classroom interactions and mathematics.

Health literacy is a significant element of education and is inextricably linked to children’s and adolescents’ growth and prosperity. It is critical to monitor students’ health literacy on a nationwide scale and identify the factors that influence it in order to create policies that advance it. The purpose of this study was to determine the health literacy level of Greek secondary school students and to correlate it with possible determinants such as personal and family characteristics, social support and personal and/or family illness experiences. A representative sample of 2749 seventh-, ninth-, and tenth-grade students was involved. Results showed that a higher motivation to learn about health topics and having positive social interactions and support were strongly associated with a higher level of health literacy. Gender, high academic achievement, absence of learning disabilities, gender, preference for biology and informatics and primary source of health information were also found to influence the skills’ level. In order to enhance health literacy, the Greek educational system should take measures to include health literacy skills development goals in their curricula.

Oxidative stress refers to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species and is often associated with numerous pathological conditions. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a widely used enzyme for evaluating oxidative stress, with numerous methods being developed for its detection in biological specimens like blood, urine, and saliva. In this study, a simple metal-assisted chemical etching method was employed for the fabrication of nanostructured silicon surfaces decorated with either silver dendrites or silver aggregates. Those surfaces were used as substrates for the immunochemical determination of SOD in synthetic saliva through surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF). The immunoassay was based on a 3-step competitive assay format, which included, after the immunoreaction with the specific anti-SOD antibody, a reaction with a biotinylated secondary antibody and streptavidin. Streptavidin labeled with peroxidase was used in combination with a precipitating tetramethylbenzidine substrate for detection through SERS, whereas for SEF measurements, streptavidin labeled with the fluorescent dye Rhodamine Red-X was utilized. Both immunoassays were sensitive, with a detection limit of 0.01 μg/mL and a linear dynamic range from 0.03 to 3.3 μg/mL, enabling the evaluation of the oxidative stress status of an organism.

Oxidative stress is defined by an imbalance between the generation of reactive oxygen species and the biological system’s ability to neutralize them. This condition is commonly linked to various pathological conditions [1]. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a widely used enzyme to assess oxidative stress, and various techniques have been developed for its detection in biological samples such as blood, urine, and saliva [2]. Surface-enhanced photoluminescence (PL) is a particularly sensitive method, offering minimal interference from the sample matrix [3]. In this work, silver nanostructured surfaces were implemented as substrates for the immunochemical determination of SOD in synthetic saliva through PL. The substrates were prepared using a single-step metal-assisted chemical etching method (MACE), resulting in the formation of silicon nanowires decorated with silver dendrites of approximately 1.5 μm in height [4]. For SOD detection, a three-step competitive immunoassay configuration was followed. Briefly, SOD was immobilized onto the substrates and then the functionalized substrates were incubated with mixtures of SOD with anti-SOD primary antibody, prepared either in assay buffer or synthetic saliva. Then, a solution of biotinylated anti-species specific antibody was added, followed by a reaction with streptavidin labelled with the fluorescent dye Rhodamine Red-X, and the signal was determined through an in-house developed optical set-up. The developed method presents similar or slightly lower sensitivity (detection limit 0.05 μg/mL) compared to the literature; however, it does not require labor-intensive sample pretreatment steps [5,6]. The aforementioned findings demonstrate the capability of the developed method to detect superoxide dismutase in natural saliva, in order to evaluate the oxidative stress status of an organism.

In this work, silicon nanowires were constructed by metal-assisted chemical etching and decorated with silver nanoparticles and used as substrates for the SERS determination of oxidative stress markers, namely glutathione, malondialdehyde and catalase. The assays were sensitive, with detection limits of 50 and 3.2 nM for glutathione and malondialdehyde, respectively, and 0.5 μg/mL for catalase, indicating the capability of the proposed substrates to be implemented for the determination of various oxidative stress markers.

The synergetic effects of electromagnetic and chemical enhancements via the combination of semiconductor nanomaterials with noble metal nanoparticles is crucial to the performance of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Here, WO3/TiO2 photonic crystal films in the form of three-dimensional inverse opals were fabricated via the co-assembly of polymer colloidal templates with water-soluble precursors in order to simultaneously grow both constituent metal oxides with tailored electronic properties and photonic band gaps. The surface modification of compositionally tuned WO3/TiO2 inverse opals by Ag nanoparticles is demonstrated to be an efficient method to boost SERS efficiency in the detection of 4−mercaptobenzoic acid via the synergy of plasmonic effects with charge transfer and slow-light trapping.

Carbene-metal-amide (CMA) complexes of gold, silver, and copper have been studied extensively for their photochemical/photocatalytic properties and as potential (pre-)catalysts in organic synthesis. Herein, the design, synthesis, and characterization of five bench-stable Au-, Ag-, and Cu-NHC complexes bearing the benzotriazolyl anion as an amide donor, are reported. All complexes are synthesized in a facile and straightforward manner, using mild conditions. The catalytic activity of the Ag and Cu complexes was studied in propargylamide cycloisomerization and carbonyl hydrosilylation reactions. Both CMA-catalyzed transformations proceed under mild conditions and are highly efficient for a range of propargylamides and carbonyl compounds, respectively, affording the desired corresponding products in good to excellent yields.

The goal of the study presented in this paper is to evaluate the performance of a proposed adaptive beamforming approach in cell-free massive multiple input multiple output (CF-mMIMO) orientations. To this end, mobile stations (MSs) can be served by multiple access points (APs) simultaneously. In the same context, the performance of a dynamic physical resource block (PRB) allocation approach isevaluated as well, where the set of assigned PRBs per active MS is constantly updated according to their signal strength and the amount of interference that cause to the rest of the co-channel MSs. Performance evaluation takes place in a two-tier wireless orientation, employing a system-level simulator designed for parallel Monte Carlo simulations. According to the presented results, a significant gain in energy efficiency (EE) can be achieved for medium data rate services when comparing the cell-free (CF) resource allocation approach to single AP links (non-CF). This is made feasible via cooperative beamforming, where on one hand, the radiation figures of the APs that serve a particularMSare jointly updated to ensure quality of service(QoS), and on the other hand, the effects of these updates on the other MSs are evaluated as well. Although EE for high data rate services decreases compared to the non-CF scenario, the proposed dynamic PRB allocation strategy significantly lowers the number of active radiating elements required to meet minimumQoS standards, thereby reducing both hardware and computational demands.

The recent discovery of astrophysical neutrinos from the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 suggests the presence of nonthermal protons within a compact "coronal" region close to the central black hole. The acceleration mechanism of these nonthermal protons remains elusive. We show that a large-scale magnetic reconnection layer, of the order of a few gravitational radii, may provide such a mechanism. In such a scenario, rough energy equipartition between magnetic fields, X-ray photons, and nonthermal protons is established in the reconnection region. Motivated by recent 3D particle-in-cell simulations of relativistic reconnection, we assume that the spectrum of accelerated protons is a broken power law, with the break energy being constrained by energy conservation (i.e., the energy density of accelerated protons is at most comparable to the magnetic energy density). The proton spectrum is ${{dn}}_{p}/{{dE}}_{p}\propto {E}_{p}^{-1}$ below the break and ${{dn}}_{p}/{{dE}}_{p}\propto {E}_{p}^{-s}$ above the break, with IceCube neutrino observations suggesting s ≃ 3. Protons above the break lose most of their energy within the reconnection layer via photohadronic collisions with the coronal X-rays, producing a neutrino signal in good agreement with the recent observations. Gamma rays injected in photohadronic collisions are cascaded to lower energies, sustaining the population of electron-positron pairs that makes the corona moderately Compton thick.

Context. Very high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) observations of the blazar Mrk 501 with MAGIC in 2014 provided evidence for an unusual narrow spectral feature at about 3 TeV during an extreme X-ray flaring activity. The one-zone synchrotron-self Compton scenario, widely used in blazar broadband spectral modeling, fails to explain the narrow TeV component. Aims: Motivated by this rare observation, we propose an alternative model for the production of narrow features in the VHE spectra of flaring blazars. These spectral features may result from the decay of neutral pions (π0 bumps) that are in turn produced via interactions of protons (of tens of TeV energy) with energetic photons, whose density increases during hard X-ray flares. Methods: We explored the conditions needed for the emergence of narrow π0 bumps in VHE blazar spectra during X-ray flares reaching synchrotron energies ∼100 keV using time-dependent radiative transfer calculations. We focused on high-synchrotron peaked (HSP) blazars, which comprise the majority of VHE-detected extragalactic sources. Results: We find that synchrotron-dominated flares with peak energies ≳100 keV can be ideal periods for the search of π0 bumps in the VHE spectra of HSP blazars. The flaring region is optically thin to photopion production, its energy content is dominated by the relativistic proton population, and the inferred jet power is highly super-Eddington. Application of the model to the spectral energy distribution of Mrk 501 on MJD 56857.98 shows that the VHE spectrum of the flare is described well by the sum of a synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) component and a distinct π0 bump centered at 3 TeV. Spectral fitting of simulated SSC+π0 spectra for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) show that a π0 bump could be detected at a 5σ significance level with a 30-min exposure. Conclusions: A harder VHE γ-ray spectrum than the usual SSC prediction or, more occasionally, a distinct narrow bump at VHE energies during hard X-ray flares, can be suggestive of a relativistic hadronic component in blazar jets that otherwise would remain hidden. The production of narrow features or spectral hardenings due to π0 decay in the VHE spectra of blazars is testable with the advent of CTA.

We model the spectral formation occurring in the binary X-ray pulsar (XRP) RX J0209.6‑7427 during the 2019 super-Eddington outburst. Using a theoretical model previously developed by the authors, we are able to produce spectra that closely resemble the phase-averaged X-ray spectra observed using the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array and Insight-HXMT during low- and high-luminosity states of the outburst, respectively. The theoretical model simulates the accretion of fully ionized gas in a dipole magnetic field and includes a complete description of the radiation hydrodynamics, matter distribution, and spectral formation. Type II X-ray outbursts provide an opportunity to study accretion over a large range of luminosities for the same neutron star. The analysis performed here represents the first time both the outburst low and high states of an accretion-powered XRP are modeled using a physics-based model rather than standard phenomenological fitting with arbitrary mathematical functions. We find that the outer polar cap radius remains constant and the column is more fully filled with increasing luminosity, Comptonized bremsstrahlung dominates the formation of the phase-averaged X-ray spectrum, and a negative correlation exists between cyclotron centroid energy and luminosity, as expected. The super-Eddington nature of the outburst is rendered possible owing to the low scattering cross section for photons propagating parallel to the magnetic field. We also find that emission through the column top dominates in both the low and high states, implying that the pulse profiles should have a roughly sinusoidal shape, which agrees with observed properties of ultraluminous XRPs.

We theoretically investigated the electron–surface optical phonon interaction across the long-range Fröhlich coupling in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, such as WS2, WSe2, MoS2, and MoSe2 monolayers, on SiC and hexagonal BN dielectric substrates. We employed the effective Hamiltonian in the K+(K−) valley of the hexagonal Brillouin zone to assess the electronic energy shifts induced by the interaction between electronic states and surface polar optical phonons. Our results indicate that the interaction between electrons and surface optical phonons depends upon the polar nature of the substrate. We have also calculated the polaronic oscillator strength, as well as the polaronic scattering rate of the lower polaron state in monolayer WS2, WSe2, MoS2, and MoSe2 on SiC and hexagonal BN dielectric substrates. As a result, we have theoretically proved the following: firstly, the enhancement of the polaronic scattering rate with temperature, and secondly, the notable influence of the careful selection of surrounding dielectrics on both the polaronic oscillator strength and the polaronic scattering rate. Thus, optimal dielectrics would be those exhibiting both elevated optical phonon energy and a high static dielectric constant.

This study delves into the exploration of wave propagation in spatially homogeneous systems governed by a Klein-Gordon–type equation with a periodically time-varying cutoff frequency. Through a combination of analytical calculations and numerical simulations, intriguing and distinctive features in the dispersion diagram of these systems are uncovered. Notably, the examined configurations demonstrate some remarkable transitions as the modulation frequency increases. These transitions encompass a transformation from a frequency gap to a wave-number (q) gap around q=0, with the transition point corresponding to a gapless Dirac dispersion with an exceptional point of degeneracy. Subsequently, the q gap undergoes a bifurcation into two symmetric gaps at positive and negative wave numbers. At this second transition point, the dispersion diagram takes the form of an imaginary Dirac dispersion relation and exhibits an isolated exceptional point at the center of the q=0 gap. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of wave dynamics in periodically modulated media, uncovering tunable phenomena.

The evolution of technology, particularly the integration of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), earth observation datasets, and historical data such as aerial photographs, stand as fundamental tools for comprehending and reconstructing surface evolution and potential environmental changes. In addition, the active geodynamic phenomena in conjunction with climate crisis and the increasing frequency of extreme weather phenomena can cause abrupt events such as rockfalls and landslides, altering completely the morphology on both small and large scales.This study deals generally with the temporal evolution of landscapes and specifically focuses on the detection and quantification of a significant rockfall event that occurred at Kalamaki Beach on Zakynthos Island, Greece – a very popular summer destination. Utilizing UAS surveys conducted in July 2020 and July 2023, this research revealed a rockfall that has significantly altered the coastal morphology. During this period, two severe natural phenomena occurred, one of which could potentially be the cause of this rockfall event. Initially, the Mediterranean hurricane (‘medicane’) ‘Ianos’ made landfall in September 2020, affecting a large part of the country including the Ionian Islands. The result was severe damage to property and infrastructures, along with human casualties, induced by intense precipitation, flash flooding, strong winds, and wave action. Second, in September of 2022, an ML=5.4 earthquake struck between Cephalonia and Zakynthos Islands in the Ionian Sea, triggering considerable impact in both islands. The study employs satellite images postdating these natural disasters, to detect the source of the rockfall in Kalamaki Beach. Additionally, historical analog aerial images from 1996 and 2010 were used as assets for understanding the surface’s evolution. For the quantitative analysis, we applied 3D semi-automated change detection techniques such as the M3C2 algorithm, to estimate the volume of the rockfall.The results provide insights into the complex interplay between natural disasters and geological processes, shedding light on the dynamic nature of landscapes and the potential implications for visitor-preferred areas.This research not only contributes to our understanding of landscape evolution but also underscores the importance of integrating modern and historical datasets to decipher the dynamic processes shaping the Earth's surface. The methodology proposed, serves as a valuable approach for assessing and managing geological hazards in coastal regions affected by both climatic events and geodynamic activities.

Transacting entities online may still become victims of fraud, cyber-threats, low quality or performance, privacy loss, unfair pricing, biases in matching offers to requests, among others. Blockchain and other decentralized technologies may provide remedy towards trustworthy online transactions. This paper proposes a blockchain-based market framework that enables trustworthy transactions. We first define the functionalities that such a market framework should combine, namely mechanisms for service discovery, decentralized reputation, price determination, self-sovereign identities and verifiable credentials, fair exchanges, anonymity, asset digitization, cryptocurrencies, invoicing, and more. Then, we describe blockchain-based solutions for addressing each one of these functionalities. Finally, we exemplify the operation of the market in three real-world use cases.

Στη μελέτη αυτήν παρουσιάζεται εισαγωγικά η βιολογική λειτουργία των ορμονών σεροτονίνη και ωκυτοκίνη. Η πρώτη ορμόνη προωθεί και ανταμείβει μεταξύ άλλων την άνοδο στην κοινωνική ιεραρχία, ενώ η δεύτερη τους κοινωνικούς και διαπροσωπικούς δεσμούς. Ενώ οι μηχανισμοί αυτοί έχουν αναπτυχθεί βιολογικά για να ευνοούν την επιβίωση, δεν την εγγυώνται, καθώς η προσπάθεια για συνεχή κοινωνική άνοδο μπορεί να δημιουργήσει εχθρούς, ενώ οι δεσμοί εμπιστοσύνης μπορούν να διαρραγούν με διάφορες αφορμές. Στο πρώτο μέρος της μελέτης περιγράφεται η κατάσταση του ιωάννειου κόσμου με έμφαση στη συνεχή πάλη του για αυτοεπιβεβαίωση και δημιουργία δεσμών ως το υπόβαθρο της εν γένει δραστηριότητας του Ιησού. Στο δεύτερο μέρος εξετάζεται το νέο μοντέλο της εξασφάλισης μια αναβαθμισμένης κοινωνικής θέσης και μόνιμων δεσμών αγάπης και εμπιστοσύνης μέσα στην οικογένεια του Θεού, σύμφωνα με τη διδασκαλία και το παράδειγμα του Ιησού. Στο τρίτο μέρος παρουσιάζεται η ιστορία του Σίμωνος Πέτρου ως αφηγηματικού χαρακτήρα, προκειμένου να φανεί η πορεία της πνευματικής μετάβασης και μεταμόρφωσης από την πραγματικότητα του ιωάννειου κόσμου σε αυτήν της οικογένειας του Θεού. Συμπερασματικά, η μελέτη καταλήγει στο ότι το κατά Ιωάννην Ευαγγέλιο καταγράφει τις εντός του κόσμου και της κοινότητας των ακολούθων του Ιησού τάσεις αυτοεπιβεβαίωσης αφενός και δημιουργίας διαπροσωπικών και κοινωνικών δεσμών αφετέρου. Ωστόσο μέσα στον κόσμο οι τάσεις αυτοεπιβεβαίωσης και επικράτησης δημιουργούν συγκρούσεις και καθίστανται καταστροφικές, ενώ αντίστοιχα οι όποιες συμμαχίες και δεσμοί έχουν επιφανειακό και ασταθή χαρακτήρα, καθώς καταρρέουν, όταν δεν εξυπηρετούν συγκεκριμένα συμφέροντα. Από την άλλη πλευρά η αυτοθυσιαστική αγάπη του Ιησού μεταμορφώνει αυτές  τις ανθρώπινες τάσεις και συμπεριφορές. Έτσι, οι ακόλουθοι του Ιησού ανέρχονται όχι εντός κοσμικών δομών, αλλά μέσα στην οικογένεια του Θεού ως τα αναγεννημένα παιδιά του. Στην οικογένεια αυτή δεν υπάρχουν ανταγωνιστικές σχέσεις, αλλά αντίθετα η αυτοθυσιαστική αγάπη προς τους άλλους είναι το κριτήριο και η προϋπόθεση της ανόδου κοντά στον Θεό. Ο αφηγηματικός χαρακτήρας του Πέτρου αποτελεί χαρακτηριστικό παράδειγμα μαθητή ο οποίος, παρά την αναμφισβήτητη αφοσίωσή του στον Ιησού, διέπεται από το πνεύμα του κόσμου, καθότι προσπαθεί διαρκώς να αυτοεπιβεβαιωθεί αποδεικνύοντας την υπεροχή του έναντι των άλλων μαθητών. Αφού αποτύχει οικτρά, αρνούμενος τον Ιησού, συνειδητοποιεί ότι μόνο διά της εμπιστοσύνης προς αυτόν μπορεί να γίνει αληθινός μαθητής του. Προϋπόθεση γι' αυτή την εμπιστοσύνη είναι η παραμονή του στην αγαπητική κοινωνία της οικογένειας του Θεού.This study begins with an introduction to the biological functions of the hormones serotonin and oxytocin. The former promotes and rewards ascension within social hierarchies, while the latter facilitates social and interpersonal bonding. While these mechanisms have evolved biologically to enhance survival, they do not guarantee it. Efforts to achieve continuous social ascent may create enemies, while bonds of trust can be broken under various circumstances. The first part of the study describes the state of the Johannine "world," emphasizing its constant struggle for self-assertion and the formation of bonds as the backdrop to Jesus’ overall activity. The second part examines the new model proposed by Jesus’ teaching and example for attaining an elevated social position and permanent bonds of love and trust within God’s family. The third part focuses on the narrative character of Simon Peter as a case study, illustrating the process of spiritual transition and transformation from the Johannine world’s reality into that of God’s family. The study concludes that the Gospel of John portrays tendencies for self-assertion and the formation of social and interpersonal bonds both within the world and the community of Jesus’ followers. However, in the world, the drive for self-assertion and dominance generates conflicts and ultimately proves destructive. Similarly, alliances and bonds are superficial and unstable, dissolving when they no longer serve specific self-interests. Conversely, Jesus’ self-sacrificial love transforms these human tendencies and behaviors. His followers ascend not within worldly structures but within God’s family as his reborn children. In this family, there are no competitive relationships; instead, self-sacrificial love toward others becomes the criterion and prerequisite for drawing closer to God.

Introduction is paper explores the potential impact of Fr. omas Joseph White’s impressive new book on the Trinity for the ecumenical dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. 1 In doing so, the paper responds to the editors’ kind request for an explicitly ecumenical approach to the book. erefore, this paper concentrates on the issue of the Trinity from an ecumenical perspective. But this is not a simple task. Before reading the book, the reader might have thought that Eastern and Western theologians had somehow reached a gentlemen’s agreement that the insertion of the Filioque clause in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed had happened sometime somewhere in the Wild West (namely, at the local Council of Toledo in 589). Building on an honest misunderstanding, the Latin Church gradually added to the initial statement of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, according to which the …

The synthesis and characterization of a homologous series of T-shaped {MNO}10 nitrosyl complexes of the form [M(PR3)2(NO)]+ (M = Pd, Pt; R = tBu, Ad) are reported. These diamagnetic nitrosyls are obtained from monovalent or zerovalent precursors by treatment with NO and NO+, respectively, and are notable for distinctly bent M-NO angles of ∼123° in the solid state. Adoption of this coordination mode in solution is also supported by the analysis of isotopically enriched samples by 15N NMR spectroscopy. Effective oxidation states of M0/NO+ are calculated, and metal-nitrosyl bonding has been interrogated using DFT-based energy decomposition analysis techniques. While a linear nitrosyl coordination mode was found to be electronically preferred, the M-NO and P-M-P angles are inversely correlated to the extent that binding in this manner is prevented by steric repulsion between the bulky ancillary phosphine ligands.

This study examines the impact of different turbidity products on the Aegean Sea surface physical characteristics, by performing twin-experiment simulations using a high-resolution regional ocean model. The turbidity products used include an in-situ based diffuse attenuation coefficient dataset at 490 nm (kd490, in m− 1) and a satellite derived kd490 product. Satellite turbidity products are broadly used in ocean simulations due to their spatiotemporal coverage and algorithm universality. Their validation and empirical components are trained mainly in phytoplankton driven regions and this may cause systematic differences in oligotrophic areas of variable optical properties’ composition. In the Aegean Sea, the in-situ based turbidity product accounts for the contribution of suspended particles in the solar heating profile, having further implications in the surface characteristics. The Aegean Sea upper-ocean thermohaline characteristics and general circulation patterns, reveal distinct differences between the twin-experiment simulations, showcasing mesoscale to locally induced impact of the turbidity variations. The turbidity impact on the air-sea interaction fluxes affects both thermodynamic processes i.e., solar radiation penetration and absorption in the water column, as well as dynamic processes i.e., momentum fluxes due to changes of the sea surface temperature and subsequently to the momentum drag coefficient. The Aegean Sea surface characteristics in the in-situ based turbidity product simulation, show a stronger decoupling between the North and the South Aegean Sea, when compared with the satellite derived turbidity product simulation. These results highlight the importance of incorporating more realistic turbidity products in ocean models, especially for optically complex regions such as the Aegean Sea.

Metamaterials are a fascinating class of photonic materials since they allow us to control optical responses (largely) at will. Besides being an intellectual challenge, adding time variations into spatial metamaterials increases the degrees of freedom to tune their effective response, which motivates their exploration. However, to exploit such materials in the future design of functional devices, we may wish to treat them at the effective level to avoid considering all the mesoscopic details. To permit such effective treatment, we describe here an eigenmode-based approach to homogenize spatiotemporal metamaterials composed of a periodic arrangement of scatterers made from a time-varying material. Practically, we consider the periodic arrangement of spheres within one layer. In our two-step homogenization scheme, we first temporally homogenize that metasurface using the eigenmodes of the bulk time-varying material. Following this, we perform spatial homogenization by inverting the Fresnel coefficients of a slab made from a stationary material. These steps effectively describe the optical response of the spatiotemporal metasurface as a homogeneous slab. We validate our results by comparing the optical observables, i.e., reflectivity and transmissivity, of the metasurface with those of the homogenized slab, and we assess the limitations of the homogenization.

Categorization and identification of typical exemplars within semantic categories is a universal skill of human cognition which is involved in language development. However, cultural, and experiential aspects might influence typicality effects. This paper examines the role of native language and culture on that categorization process and on typicality effects. Towards that objective, we had Spanish native speakers and Spanish FL learners whose mother tongue is Greek complete a category generation word association task. Data were analyzed within a network and graph theory framework as the best fitting for this type of data, bearing in mind previous descriptions of semantic memory. Results showed how, indeed, native speakers and learners of varying proficiency levels differ in their availability and production of typical exemplars, especially in slot-filler categories versus taxonomic categories. Lexical access during category generation might be determined by native language and culture. Additionally, natives’ mental lexicon seems to feature denser connections responsible for more efficient access.

Uncertainty profoundly shapes modern production models and the institutional framework of economies. This study investigates the assumption that heightened uncertainty leads to reduced innovation outcomes. Using an unbalanced panel dataset of 143 countries from 1997 to 2020, the analysis reveals that increased uncertainty significantly affects economies' innovation performance. Economic institutions play a critical role in this process, acting as safeguards or enhancers under high uncertainty. Uncertainty and economic institutions work in synergy, with uncertainty exerting a more prominent impact. In advanced economies, uncertainty and economic institutions negatively influence innovation outcomes, but these economies counteract uncertainty by increasing research and development (R&D) spending. Economic institutions may limit R&D expenditure but create an environment conducive to higher researcher employment. On the other hand, developing economies experience a stronger negative effect of uncertainty compared to advanced economies, and economic institutions require support to foster innovation production. Moreover, these economies have limited capacity to mitigate uncertainty through R&D investments. Overall, this study underscores the complex relationship between uncertainty, economic institutions, and innovation outcomes across different types of economies.

Coastal cliffs are one of the cases of steep terrains naturally vulnerable to a range of erosional processes, with rockfalls emerging as one of the most prevalent and hazardous. Although predicting rockfall occurrences remains challenging due to multi-faceted triggering factors such as extreme weather events, seismic activity, erosion, and human actions, technological advancements offer promising avenues for developing more robust and effective risk assessment methodologies. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), photogrammetry from Unmanned Aerial System images, and satellite imagery, coupled with the evolution of artificial intelligence, have revolutionized the field of rockfall assessment by enabling precise detection and quantification of 3D topographic changes, offering insights into rockfall dynamics.

Preparing prospective mathematics teachers to become teachers who recognize andrespond to students’ mathematical needs is challenging. In this study, we use the construct of critical incident as a tool to support prospective mathematics teachers’ reflection on their authentic fieldwork activities, notice students’ thinking, and link it to the complexity of mathematics teaching. Particularly, we aim to explore the characteristics and evolution of prospective mathematics teachers’ noticing of students’ mathematical thinking when critical incidents trigger reflective discussions. Critical incidents are moments in which students’ mathematical thinking becomes apparent and can provide teachers with opportunities to delve more deeply into the mathematics discussed in the lesson. In the study, twenty-two prospective mathematics teachers participated in fieldwork activities that included observing and teaching secondary school classrooms. The prospective teachers identified critical incidents from their observations and teaching, which were the foci for reflective discussion in university sessions. By characterizing the prospective teachers’ reflective talk in these discussions, we demonstrate the discussion’s evolution.In it, participants questioned learning and teaching mathematics and suggested alternate explanations. This characterization also shows that using critical incidents in the university discussions enabled the prospective teachers to link students’ thinking with the teacher’s teaching practices while supporting their reflection using classroom evidence. We emphasize the importance of descriptive talk in the discussion, which allows for deepening the prospective teachers’ reflections. Further, we explore the teacher educator’s contributions in those discussions, showing that the teacher educator mainly maintained the reflective talk by contextualizing the critical incidents and pressing the participants to explain further issues they raised in the discussions. Implications for mathematics teacher education are discussed.

The issue of interpersonal comparisons of utility is about the possibility (or not) of comparing the utility or welfare or the mental states in general, of different individuals. Embedded in the conceptual framework of utilitarianism, interpersonal comparisons were admissible in economics as part of the theoretical justification of welfare policies until the first decades of the twentieth century. Under the strong influence of the scientific philosophy of positivism as reflected in the works of early neoclassical economists and as epitomized by Lionel Robbins, utility comparisons were subsequently rejected as a value judgement. Robbins’ methodological stance is still prevalent among mainstream economists. Despite the explicit rejection of comparability by the majority of economists, interpersonal comparisons are necessary for many key policy issues, such as progressive taxation, social welfare policies, GDP-based welfare comparisons, cost–benefit analysis, and public goods provision. In this paper, the case of interpersonal utility comparisons is discussed as an illustrative example of the usefulness of the study of the role of value judgements, and generally of the interrelationship between ethics and economics. It is argued that the current tension between theory and policy practice might be resolved through the efforts of prominent economists and philosophers to challenge positivism, and especially its problematic treatment of value judgements and of ethical assumptions in general. The discussion also provides more strength to the view that policy makers and their economic advisers cannot avoid ethical questions in their analysis of the workings of the economic system

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The growing energy demand has intensified interest in marine renewable sources. This study assesses wave energy potential in the Mediterranean and Black Seas using a 15-year (2010–2024) wave hindcast with the WaveWatch III model. It examines the spatial and temporal distribution of significant wave height, wave energy period, and overall wave energy resources at a basin-wide scale. The findings identify the western Mediterranean—particularly the area west of Sardinia and from the Gulf of Lion to the Algerian coast— as having considerable wave energy potential, primarily due to the Mistral winds during winter. Other regions, such as the Alboran Sea, central-south Aegean Sea, and western Black Sea, show lower wave energy levels but remain promising for wave energy converter development due to moderate wave power variability over time. To assess the impact of wave-current interactions on wave power estimation, additional simulations were performed over a 5-year sub-period without current forcing. Results indicate that currents can reduce extreme wave power values in the most energetic areas by up to 5 kWm</span>^{<span style="font-weight: 400;">-1</span>}<span style="font-weight: 400;">. This study establishes a baseline wave-only simulation to aid future research using a regional coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave system for more precise wave power assessments.</span></p>

Cost reduction is a component that contributes to both the profitability and longevity of a corporation, especially in the case of a financial institution, and can be accomplished through greater client retention. Particularly, credit card customers comprise a volatile subset of a bank's client base. As such, banks would like to predict in advance which of those clients are likely to attrite, so as to approach them with proactive marketing campaigns. Credit card attrition is generally a poorly investigated subtopic with a variety of challenges, like highly imbalanced datasets. This article utilizes neural networks to address the challenges of credit card attrition since they have found great application in many classification problems. More particularly, to overcome the shortcomings of traditional back propagation neural networks, we construct a multi-input trigonometrically activated weights and structure determination (MTA-WASD) neural network which incorporates structure trimming as well as other techniques that boost its training speed as well as diminish the danger and the subsequent detrimental effects of overfitting. When applied to three publicly available datasets, the MTA-WASD neural network demonstrated either superior or highly competitive performance across all metrics, compared to some of the best-performing classification models that MATLAB's classification learner app offers.

The integration of renewable rnergy sources (RESs) into the power grid involves operational challenges due to the inherent RES energy-production variability. Imbalances between actual power generation and scheduled production can lead to grid instability and revenue loss for RES operators and aggregators. To address this risk, in this paper, we introduce a mutually beneficial bilateral trading scheme between a RES and a DR aggregator to internally offset real-time energy imbalances before resorting to the flexibility market. We consider that the DR aggregator manages the energy demand of users, characterized by uncertainty in their participation in DR events and thus the actual provision of flexibility, subject to their offered monetary incentives. Given that the RES aggregator faces penalties according to dual pricing for positive or negative imbalances, we develop an optimization framework to achieve the required flexibility while addressing the trade-off between maximizing the profit of the RES and DR aggregators and appropriately incentivizing the users. By using appropriate parameterization of the solution, the achievable revenue for the imbalance offsetting can be shared between the RES and the DR aggregators while keeping users satisfied. Our analysis highlights the interdependencies of the demand–production energy imbalance on user characteristics and the RES and DR aggregator profits. Based on our results, we show that a win–win outcome (for the RES and DR aggregators and the users) is possible for a wide range of cases, and we provide guidelines so that such bilateral agreements between RES and DR aggregators could emerge in practical settings.

An X-ray brightening of a source likely associated with the Be X-ray binary candidate RX J0032.9-7348 in the SMC (Kahabka, Pietsch 1996, A & A 312, 919) was recently discovered with the Einstein Probe mission (EP, ATel#16880).

Generalized inverses are extremely effective in many areas of mathematics and engineering. The zeroing neural network (ZNN) technique, which is currently recognized as the state-of-the-art approach for calculating the time-varying Moore-Penrose matrix inverse, is investigated in this study as a solution to the problem of calculating the time-varying minimum rank outer inverse (TV-MROI) with prescribed range and/or TV-MROI with prescribed kernel. As a result, four novel ZNN models are introduced for computing the TV-MROI, and their efficiency is examined. Numerical tests examine and validate the effectiveness of the introduced ZNN models for calculating TV-MROI with prescribed range and/or prescribed kernel.

 Αποτελεί μια ανθρωπολογική έρευνα, μια εις βάθος μελέτη των ανθρώπινων αντιλήψεων και ηθικών διλημμάτων σχετικά με τις ευκαιρίες, προκλήσεις αλλά και τους κινδύνους της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης ευρύτερα και πιο ειδικά στην τέχνη και παιδαγωγική εφαρμογή του χορού.Η έρευνα θέτει τις βάσεις της σε τέσσερις μεθοδολογικές στρατηγικές ώστε να ανιχνεύσει τις θέσεις του δείγματος, της επισκόπησης, της διερευνητικής, της επεξηγηματικής, της περιγραφικής και της αιτιολογικής. Προσεγγίζονται οι σημαντικότερες σχετικές θεωρητικές προσεγγίσεις ηθικής και αισθητικής σκέψης από την αρχαιότητα ως την εποχή του φιλοσοφικού μετανθρωπισμού.Η ερευνήτρια επιχειρεί να κατανοήσει τις ενέργειες, τις σχέσεις και τις επιλογές των συμμετεχόντων μέσα από τη δική τους οπτική, χωρίς να επιβάλλει μη αντικειμενικές ερμηνείες. Όπως αναφέρουν χαρακτηριστικά η ερευνήτρια κ. Μάστορα και η επόπτρια κ. Λάζου «οι όροι «συνείδηση» και «μορφή» - ως ηθικά προσδιοριζόμενος ο πρώτος και ως αισθητικά ο δεύτερος εφαρμόζονται στο αντικείμενο του χορού αντλώντας στοιχεία από την φιλοσοφία του νου, την φιλοσοφική ανθρωπολογία και τη σύγχρονη αισθητική και νευροαισθητική». Ο συνδυασμός ποιοτικών και ποσοτικών μεθόδων, ενισχύει την εγκυρότητα και την αξιοπιστία των αποτελεσμάτων της έρευνας, τα οποία αναμένουν με ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον διεθνείς φορείς.

Η μέθοδος διδασκαλίας της αρχαίας όρχησης της Άννας Λάζου – αρχαία όρχηση - αποτελεί διδακτική προσέγγιση (Brousseau 1998), και όταν εξετάζεται από τη σκοπιά μιας διαρκούς νομικής οντολογίας, προσφέρει ένα μοναδικό και πρωτογενές πλαίσιο ανάλυσης, στο οποίο η γνώση και οι πρακτικές διδασκαλίας μπορούν και γίνονται αντιληπτές μέσα από το πρίσμα του δικαίου και της οντολογίας. Αυτή η νομική θεώρηση υπερβαίνει την απλή μετάδοση γνώσεων και εντάσσεται σε μια κανονιστική και δομική λογική, όπου οι διαδικασίες διδασκαλίας και μάθησης ερμηνεύονται ως πράξεις δημιουργίας και διατήρησης μιας σταθερής και ρυθμιζόμενης διδακτικής πραγματικότητας. Αυτή η προοπτική είναι επίσης οντολογική, καθώς θεωρεί τις διδακτικές μεθόδους όχι ως απλά εργαλεία, αλλά ως οντότητες με δική τους ύπαρξη, που ρυθμίζουν τη διαρκή και επαναλαμβανόμενη αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ του διδάσκοντος, του ορχηστή και της γνώσης.

CITE AS: Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη (2024). Γυναικείες Μαρτυρίες: "Η Χορευτική Μανία" των Ποντίων της Σινώπης το 1870. Εισήγηση στην Ημερίδα της Ένωσης Ποντίων Νίκαιας - Κορυδαλλού με θέμα: «Σέρρα-Πυρρίχιος: Όψεις, χρήσεις και καταχρήσεις», 2024/3/30 Νίκαια. Ημερίδα υπό την αιγίδα της Παμποντιακής Ομοσπονδίας Ελλάδος, του Θεάτρου Ελληνικών χορών «Δόρα Στράτου» και του Τμήματος Αθηνών του Παγκοσμίου Συμβουλίου χορού CID UNESCO.****Βλέπε Ημερίδα στο YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6AcLCxlZaM 

The significance of social skills for both, integration in the labor market and job retention, has been long recognized in the international literature (Suarta et al., 2017). The need to adapt to current demands is linked with the investment in social skills (Harvey, 2010). However, recent studies suggest that social skills are increasingly rare in the job market (Schislyaeva & Saychenko, 2022). The current paper focuses on the issues surrounding the cultivation of social skills in the workplace.

 Forthcoming (cite as): Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη (2024). Η πολυεθνική δουλεία του οθωμανικού χαρεμιού και το παιδικό χαρέμι. Εισήγηση στο 9ο Συνέδριο της Ελληνικής Κοινωνιολογικής Εταιρείας/ΕΚΕ σε συνεργασία με το Τμήμα Κοινωνιολογίας του ΕΚΠΑ και το  Εθνικό Κέντρο Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, «Κοινωνία και Κοινωνιολογία στην Ελλάδα πενήντα χρόνια από την αποκατάσταση της δημοκρατίας»,  Αθήνα, 30 Οκτωβρίου – 1 Νοεμβρίου 2024. Εισήγηση στην ενότητα «Δίκαιο-δικαιώματα και κοινωνικός έλεγχος» (Αίθουσα 1:  12.30 - 14.00, 31/10/2024).

The present study focuses on specific socially vulnerable groups that face more risks for social and educational exclusion and stigma. These groups include Roma, people with mental health issues, prisoners and people who abuse drugs. The obstacles and motivation to participate in Lifelong Learning Programmes are discussed in addition with the availability of human and other resources, the state and media position on fighting stigma, the training of trainers and capacity building.

The present study aims to investigate questions related, on one hand, to the degree of familiarity that SecondaryScience Education teachers show with the Nature of Science and, on the other hand, to their understanding ofthe Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection. To what extent, e.g. better Epistemological Adequacy(knowledge of the Nature of Science) can influence the understanding and acceptance of the Evolution Theorythrough Natural Selection. Employing a closed-ended electronic questionnaire, the epistemologicalperceptions, understanding, and knowledge of the Evolution Theory via natural selection were assessed amonga cohort of 200 secondary education educators who teach or have taught biology-related subjects. The analysisreveals a positive correlation between epistemological adequacy and the acceptance and understanding ofevolutionary theory via natural selection. (12) (PDF) Μελετώντας τη Σχέση Αποδοχής και Κατανόησης της Θεωρίας της Εξέλιξης μέσω Φυσικής Επιλογής σε σχέση με τη Γνώση της Φύσης της Επιστήμης: Η Περίπτωση των Ελλήνων εκπαιδευτικών. Περίληψη. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381341712_Meletontas_te_Schese_Apodoches_kai_Katanoeses_tes_Theorias_tes_Exelixes_meso_Physikes_Epiloges_se_schese_me_te_Gnose_tes_Physes_tes_Epistemes_E_Periptose_ton_Ellenon_ekpaideutikon_Perilepse?channel=doi&linkId=6669d54185a4ee7261bf2034&showFulltext=true#fullTextFileContent [accessed Jun 12 2024].

Το 2010, εγκαινιάστηκε μια σειρά διαλέξεων στη Θεολογική Σχολή Αθηνών με θέμα τους δεσμούς μεταξύ Ποίησης και Θεολογίας. Έλληνες ποιητές και στοχαστές εγνωσμένου βεληνεκούς έδωσαν έτσι το «παρών» στη Θεολογική Σχολή, παραδίδοντας καθένας τη δική του πρόσληψη αυτής της μακραίωνης και πολύπτυχης σχέσης. Στον Τόμο αυτόν περιλαμβάνονται οι διαλέξεις που δόθηκαν μέχρι και το 2023, με σκοπό να αποτελέσει μια απεικόνιση αφενός των βασικών τομών μεταξύ της Θεολογίας και της Τέχνης του λόγου και αφετέρου των εν γένει δυναμικών που ξεκλειδώνουν νέες προοπτικές για τον θεολογικό διάλογο της μετανεωτερικής εποχής. Συγγραφείς Δημήτρης ΚοσμόπουλοςΝάσος ΒαγενάςΙουλίτα ΗλιοπούλουΚατερίνα Αγγελάκη-ΡουκΧάρης ΒλαβιανόςΧρήστος ΓιανναράςΚυριάκος ΧαραλαμπίδηςΑντώνης ΦωστιέρηςΕλένη ΛαδιάΣταύρος ΖουμπουλάκηςΒασίλης ΚαραποστόληςΘανάσης ΧατζόπουλοςΣτέλιος Ράμφος Επιμέλεια Τόμου: Κίρκη ΚεφαλέαISBN: 978-960-466-328-6

The present book is a narrative and theological commentary on the Gospel of John, one of the most important theological and influential texts of the New Testament. In the preface, the reader is informed about the basic scholarly problems concerning the Gospel of John: the genre, its structure and content, its relation to the synoptic gospels, the author, the place, time and aim of its composition, as well as important milestones in Johannine research, and the basic scholarly bibliography. Then, a detailed narrative and a theological analysis of the text beginning with the hymn of the prologue follow. After the analysis of the gospel's narrative introduction up to Jesus' first sign at Cana of Galilee, His public activity, consisting mainly of extensive discourses and a series of representative signs, is analysed in the following chapters. In this part, the structure of the commentary follows the succession of Jewish festivals around which the narrative unfolds. Finally, the farewell discourses of Jesus and the narratives of the Passion and Resurrection are analysed. As it will be shown by the analysis, throughout his gospel the author uses narrative devices to guide the recipients of his text in gradually grasping his theological teaching as to the true identity of the person and the deeper significance of Jesus' work, in contrast to various messianic-eschatological concepts of the time. From a methodological point of view, the commentary presupposes and combines knowledge and methods from the fields of history, literature, narratology, and theology, aiming to offer readers the possibility of a comprehensive understanding of an emblematic early Christian text and the world in which it was composed.Το παρόν σύγγραμμα είναι ένα αφηγηματικό και θεολογικό υπόμνημα στο κατά Ιωάννην Ευαγγέλιο, ένα από τα πιο σημαντικά και επιδραστικά θεολογικά κείμενα της Καινής Διαθήκης. Αρχικά, ο αναγνώστης ενημερώνεται για τα βασικά επιστημονικά προβλήματα του κατά Ιωάννην Ευαγγελίου: το κειμενικό είδος, τη δομή και το περιεχόμενό του, τη σχέση του με τα συνοπτικά ευαγγέλια, τον συγγραφέα, τον τόπο, τον χρόνο και τον σκοπό της συγγραφής του, σημαντικούς σταθμούς της ιωάννειας έρευνας και τη βασική επιστημονική βιβλιογραφία. Ακολουθούν η αναλυτική αφηγηματική και η θεολογική ερμηνεία του κειμένου αρχής γενομένης από τον ύμνο του προλόγου. Μετά την ανάλυση της αφηγηματικής εισαγωγής του ευαγγελίου μέχρι και το πρώτο σημείο του Ιησού στην Κανά της Γαλιλαίας, αναλύεται σε διαδοχικά κεφάλαια η δημόσια δραστηριότητά του, η οποία απαρτίζεται κυρίως από εκτενείς ομιλίες, καθώς και από μια σειρά αντιπροσωπευτικών σημείων του. Η δόμηση του υπομνήματος ακολουθεί στο μέρος αυτό την αλληλοδιαδοχή των ιουδαϊκών εορτών στο πλαίσιο των οποίων εκτυλίσσεται η αφήγηση. Τέλος, αναλύονται οι αποχαιρετιστήριοι λόγοι του Ιησού και οι διηγήσεις του Πάθους και της Αναστάσεως. Όπως θα φανεί από την ανάλυση, σε όλη την έκταση του ευαγγελίου ο συγγραφέας του χρησιμοποιεί αφηγηματικά μέσα, ώστε να καθοδηγήσει τους παραλήπτες του κειμένου του στο να αντιληφθούν βαθμιαία τη θεολογική διδασκαλία του ως προς την πραγματική ταυτότητα του προσώπου και τη βαθύτερη σημασία του έργου του Ιησού, σε αντιδιαστολή προς διάφορες μεσσιανικές-εσχατολογικές αντιλήψεις της εποχής. Από μεθοδολογικής πλευράς, το υπόμνημα προϋποθέτει και συνδυάζει γνώσεις και μεθόδους από τους χώρους της ιστορίας, της φιλολογίας, της αφηγηματολογίας και της θεολογίας αποσκοπώντας στο να προσφέρει στους αναγνώστες τη δυνατότητα μιας σφαιρικής κατανόησης ενός εμβληματικού πρωτοχριστιανικού κειμένου, καθώς και του κόσμου εντός του οποίου αυτό συντάχθηκε.

Στην επιλογή των μελετών και των άρθρων που θα βρείτε στον δεύτερο τόμο της περιοδικής έκδοσης ακολουθείται η ίδια αρχή αξιολόγησης με τον πρώτο τόμο (2023- 2024), καθώς επιλέχθηκαν οι εργασίες που θεωρήθηκε ότι εξελίσσουν και διαδίδουν την ιδέα αυτής της έρευνας δημιουργώντας γόνιμα εδάφη μελλοντικών ανακαλύψεων. Όπως και στην έναρξη της σειράς, που ευελπιστούμε να έχει σταθερή πορεία στον κόσμο των περιοδικών εκδόσεων, οι εργασίες έχουν τοποθετηθεί με τέτοιο τρόπο, ώστε από διαφορετικά σημεία να προσεγγίζεται και να αγκαλιάζεται το κυρίως θέμα και ο κεντρικός μας στόχος -η θεραπεία στις διάφορες εμπειρικές και πρακτικές εκδοχές της, υπό το φως της φιλοσοφίας και της τέχνης. Από την διαρκώς βαθύνουσα γνώση οδηγούμαστε σε νέες μεθόδους, σε νέες και αποτελεσματικές πρακτικές.

Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη (2024). Φύλο και επιχειρηματικότητα στην ψηφιακή εποχή:  Η  δίνη των πολλαπλών υποχρεώσεων και η έμφυλη κόπωση 1974-2024. Εισήγηση στο 9ο Συνέδριο της Ελληνικής Κοινωνιολογικής Εταιρείας/ΕΚΕ σε συνεργασία με το Τμήμα Κοινωνιολογίας του ΕΚΠΑ και το  Εθνικό Κέντρο Κοινωνικών Ερευνών, «Κοινωνία και Κοινωνιολογία στην Ελλάδα πενήντα χρόνια από την αποκατάσταση της δημοκρατίας»,  Αθήνα, 30 Οκτωβρίου – 1 Νοεμβρίου 2024. Εισήγηση στην ενότητα «Κοινωνιολογία της εργασίας ΙΙ» (αίθουσα 3: 10.45 - 12.15, 31/10/2024). https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/3419842 

The present-day geotectonic regime of Crete Island is mainly controlled by the processes occurring along the seismically active Hellenic subduction zone, e.g., the fast convergence between Africa - Eurasian plates (at a rate of 36 mm/yr) and the simultaneous SSW-ward retreat of the subducting slab. The result is a large south-facing orogenic wedge extending from the southern coast of Crete up to the Hellenic subduction trench to the South. Contractional structures (thrusts, folds, and duplexes) have formed in the deeper parts of the wedge and caused the thickening of the crust. This has led to substantial regional uplift and extension of the upper part of the wedge. Hence, two significant arc-parallel and arc-normal sets of active normal faults crosscut the Cretan mainland, affecting the entire alpine nappe pile. These faults have created a characteristic basin and range topography expressed through impressive E-ESE and N-NNE horst and graben structures bounded by fault zones with segments ranging from 5 to more than 20 km. Detailed fault mapping of the Mirabello Gulf – Ierapetra Basin depression revealed a dominant NNE-SSW fault system, occupying the central and northern part, and a subordinate E-W to ESE-WNW system, observed mainly along the southern coastal zone. In the ESE margin, the deformation is localized mainly along the 30 km long NNE-SSW Kavousi – Ieraptera fault zone. On the other hand, in the WNW margin, the deformation is distributed in a larger population of relatively minor faults, organizing in more complex second-order horst and graben structures. In the southern part of the Ierapetra Basin, the E-W to ESE-WSW faults are significantly less and concern 2-3 specific zones. Specific morphological structures such as the remarkable range high, the deep V-shaped gorges, the large scree thickness, and the prominent post-glacial fault scarps produced along the basin margins indicate the intensive activity of these faults during the Quaternary. The NNE-SSW fault system seems to be younger and more active, given that i) intersects the E-W or ESE-WNW faults of the southern part, ii) produces significant fault scarps and polished fault surfaces in the cemented scree along the fault zone, and iii) kinematically is compatible with the recent and present-day focal mechanisms (e.g., the 2021 Arkalochori earthquakes). In conclusion, the Ierapetra Basin has formed and developed through an overall E-W extension parallel to the present-day geometry of the arc.

of teacher design in collaborative settings in the light of the new opportunities that digital resources (DRs) offer. Taking into account the growing research interest into the collective dimension of teachers’ design-work, our aim is to answer what are the forms, conditions, and products of teachers’ collective design-work with DRs as well as what and how the individual teacher learns by participating in collaborative work with DRs. We also aim to answer what theoretical and analytical perspectives are used by researchers to study teachers’ collective design-work with DRs. To answer these questions, we conducted a systematic literature study leading finally to 36 peer-reviewed publications. Our first thematic analysis resulted in two main themes (the process of teacher collaboration, the impact of teacher collaboration on teacher professional learning) and corresponding subthemes. The next step of our analysis focused on: the context, the product, the purpose, and the processes of the design-work; the theoretical and methodological approaches by which it was studied; and the main findings. The final synthesis indicates that (a) teachers’ collaborative design-work has usually positive learning outcomes for individual teachers, (b) the role of DRs in the collaboration depends on their affordances, and (c) the collective-individual interplay has been studied mainly by a focus on the effects of the collaboration on the individual teacher and not the other way around. Areas of further research are also discussed.

This study aimed to systematically review research findings regarding the relationship between adult friendship and wellbeing. A multidimensional scope for wellbeing and its components with the use of the PERMA theory was adopted. A total of 38 research articles published between 2000 and 2019 were reviewed. In general, adult friendship was found to predict or at least be positively correlated with wellbeing and its components. In particular, the results showed that friendship quality and socializing with friends predict wellbeing levels. In addition, number of friends, their reactions to their friend's attempts of capitalizing positive events, support of friend's autonomy, and efforts to maintain friendship are positively correlated with wellbeing. Efforts to maintain the friendship, friendship quality, personal sense of uniqueness, perceived mattering, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and subjective vitality mediated this relationship. However, research findings highlighted several gaps and limitations of the existing literature on the relationship between adult friendship and wellbeing components. For example, for particular wellbeing components, findings were non-existent, sparse, contradictory, fragmentary, or for specific populations only. Implications of this review for planning and implementing positive friendship interventions in several contexts, such as school, work, counseling, and society, are discussed.

Medical imaging modalities, like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have enabled efficient diagnosis of various conditions, including cancer, lung disease, and brain tumors. With the advancements in machine learning, AI-based medical image segmentation and classification systems have emerged, potentially replacing human diagnosis. However, the security and robustness of these systems are crucial, as they are vulnerable to adversarial attacks, as demonstrated in previous studies. In this respect, the current work explores the one-pixel attack’s impact on the reliable VGG16 model, the effectiveness of combining the one-pixel attack with the FGSM attack, the potential of using the squeezing color bits detector to counter the one-pixel attack, and the possibility of using a combination of the squeezing color bits and PCA whitening detectors to protect against the aforementioned attacks.

Aging is the major risk factor for several life-threatening pathologies and impairs the function of multiple cellular compartments and organelles. Age-dependent deterioration of nuclear morphology is a common feature in evolutionarily divergent organisms. Lipid droplets have been shown to localize in most nuclear compartments, where they impinge on genome architecture and integrity. However, the significance of progressive nuclear lipid accumulation and its impact on organismal homeostasis remain obscure. Here, we implement non-linear imaging modalities to monitor and quantify age-dependent nuclear lipid deposition in Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that lipid droplets increasingly accumulate in the nuclear envelope, during aging. Longevity-promoting interventions, such as low insulin signaling and caloric restriction, abolish the rate of nuclear lipid accrual and decrease the size of lipid droplets. Suppression of lipotoxic lipid accumulation in hypodermal and intestinal nuclei is dependent on the transcription factor HLH-30/TFEB and the triglyceride lipase ATGL-1. HLH-30 regulates the expression of ATGL-1 to reduce nuclear lipid droplet abundance in response to lifespan-extending conditions. Notably, ATGL-1 localizes to the nuclear envelope and moderates lipid content in long-lived mutant nematodes during aging. Our findings indicate that the reduced ATGL-1 activity leads to excessive nuclear lipid accumulation, perturbing nuclear homeostasis and undermining organismal physiology, during aging.

 

This book explores the major challenges that the long-standing and diversely debated demise of postmodernism signifies for American literature, art, culture, history, and politics, in the present, third decade of the twenty-first century. Its scope comprises a vigorous discussion of all these diverse fields undertaken by distinguished scholars as well as junior researchers, U.S. Americanists and European Americanists alike. Focusing on socio-political and cultural developments in the contemporary U.S., their contributions highlight the interconnectedness of the geopolitical, economic, environmental and technological crises that define the historical present on global scale.

Tourism is an important economic activity for many countries and the ability of understanding visitor needs as they evolve over time is a priority for all involved stakeholders. The analysis of textual reviews written by travelers on various online platforms may be a valuable tool in this direction. In this work, we showcase the potential of this idea by examining 8 well-known attractions in the City of Athens, Greece. After retrieving the relevant data from two popular online services, we employ a state-of-the-art transformer-based language model for two tasks; the extraction of distinctive keywords and phrases out of the free-text reviews and the assignment of a sentiment score to each review. Based on this information, we can associate certain keywords and phrases with specific sentiment values and monitor their evolution over time, in the context of specific touristic {&} cultural places. The analysis that follows explores the potential of this idea in more detail.

In this paper, I discuss the notion of “repatriation” of antiquities that have been illicitly excavated and exported, against the backdrop of Greece’s attempts to achieve their return. Taking the British Museum Caryatid as my primary case study, I survey recent Greek theatre plays and children’s storybooks in order to examine how the stolen statue is invariably portrayed as the nation’s missing “daughter” or “sister”, suffering in solitary exile and eagerly awaiting “her” return. Based on this discussion, I proceed to claim that the repatriation narrative serves as a means to reconfirm Greece’s whiteness, and the Greek nation’s rightful place as part of the West. Employing the methodological tools of coloniality and crypto-coloniality, as well as the parallel modern example of Egypt, I argue that it is through such attempts at partial representation that political communities in the periphery of the West imagine themselves into being.

As a discipline deeply rooted in the turbulent nation-building days of the “long 19th c.”, archaeology is closely entangled with political discourse. Modernity, however, has also effected a breed of politics carried out through the use of archaeology, and the past’s grip on the ways we perceive our present. This paper is not a discussion of the political aspects of archaeological praxis in contemporary societies but an exploration of politics carried out through an archaeological way of thinking and acting. I call this breed of archaeologically informed politics over life “Archaeopolitics”. My main case study come from present-day Greece, and South-Eastern Europe at large, though – as my first example is bound to show – what I am describing here may be observed in many other regions of the world and in a timeframe much wider than the later 20th – early 21st c.

The present study aims to present the results of a near-surface geophysical investigation carried out ata construction site in the area of Goudi (Athens) along with its contribution to the determination of thegeotechnical characteristics. For this purpose, the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), ElectricalResistivity Tomography (ERT), Seismic Refraction Tomography (SRT) and Multichannel Analysis ofSurface Waves (MASW) techniques were implemented in the area. The cores of three geotechnicalboreholes existing in the area have also been taken into account. The application of the GPR and ERTtechniques did not reached a satisfactory investigation depth, however the existence of a possiblemechanically degraded zone have been adumbrated at the south part of the excavation area. Throughthe application of the SRT and MASW techniques, the seismic waves velocities of the investigatedlithological formations were calculated and the subsurface structure of the study area was outlined.Additionally, lateral variations in the P-wave seismic velocities, especially in the first investigatedseismic layer, provided further evidence for the existence of mechanically unstable zones, whichnecessitate a more detailed investigation. Finally, from the laboratory determination of the formations’densities and their seismic wave velocities, their elastic moduli and geotechnical parameters have beencalculated.

The sensitivity of air quality model responses to modifications in input data (e.g. emissions, meteorology and boundary conditions)or model configurations is recognized as an important issue for air quality modelling applications in support of air qualityplans. In the framework of FAIRMODE (Forum of Air Quality Modelling in Europe, https:// fairm ode. jrc. ec. europa. eu/) adedicated air quality modelling exercise has been designed to address this issue. The main goal was to evaluate the magnitudeand variability of air quality model responses when studying emission scenarios/projections by assessing the changes of modeloutput in response to emission changes. This work is based on several air quality models that are used to support model usersand developers, and, consequently, policy makers. We present the FAIRMODE exercise and the participating models, andprovide an analysis of the variability of O3and PM concentrations due to emission reduction scenarios. The key novel feature,in comparison with other exercises, is that emission reduction strategies in the present work are applied and evaluated at urbanscale over a large number of cities using new indicators such as the absolute potential, the relative potential and the absolutepotency. The results show that there is a larger variability of concentration changes between models, when the emission reductionscenarios are applied, than for their respective baseline absolute concentrations. For ozone, the variability between modelsof absolute baseline concentrations is below 10%, while the variability of concentration changes (when emissions are similarlyperturbed) exceeds, in some instances 100% or higher during episodes. Combined emission reductions are usually more efficientthan the sum of single precursor emission reductions both for O3and PM. In particular for ozone, model responses, in terms oflinearity and additivity, show a clear impact of non-linear chemistry processes. This analysis gives an insight into the impact ofmodel’ sensitivity to emission reductions that may be considered when designing air quality plans and paves the way of morein-depth analysis to disentangle the role of emissions from model formulation for present and future air quality assessments.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether specific genetic polymorphisms affect the response to intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment in patients with macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO). METHODS: Participants in this prospective study were 50 patients with macular oedema secondary to RVO, who were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab or aflibercept, and were followed-up for 12 months after initiation of treatment. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from three different genes (APOE, PON1, SDF-1) were examined as potential predictors for treatment response to intravitreal anti-VEGF agents. RESULTS: Patients with the LL genotype of the PON1 L55M SNP had significantly higher reduction in central subfield thickness (CST) at month 12 after initiation of intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment (101.63 +/- 56.80 mum in LL vs. 72.44 +/- 39.41 mum in LM vs. 40.25 +/- 19.33 mum in MM, p = .026). Patients with the M allele of the PON1 L55M SNP were significantly associated with lower reduction in CST compared to non-carriers (68.29 +/- 38.77 mum in LM + MM vs. 101.63 +/- 56.80 mum in LL, p = .032). CONCLUSION: PON1 L55M SNP may serve as a promising genetic biomarker for predicting response to intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment in patients with macular oedema due to RVO

As a critical reflection to the discourse surrounding the ‘Berlin Republic’ and the demand for a redefinition of the German national identity, the last two decades have seen the emergence of various works by artists labeled as ‘migration background’ that deal with German historical and memory culture. Fatih Akin’s political thriller Aus dem Nichts and Feridun Zaimoglu’s novel German Amok examine migration from a genuinely postmigrant perspective. This broadening of the perspectival focus generates a different understanding of history and society, which through its disillusioning and irritating effect allows a critical examination of social power relations and deficits in norms and values.

In this study, we present a method to estimate posterior distributions for standard accretion torque model parameters and binary orbital parameters for X-ray binaries using a nested sampling algorithm for Bayesian parameter estimation. We study the spin evolution of two Be X-ray binary systems in the Magellanic Clouds, RX J0520.5-6932 and RX J0209-7427, during major outbursts, in which they surpassed the Eddington limit. Moreover, we apply our method to the recently discovered Swift J0243.6+6124, the only known Galactic pulsating ultra-luminous X-ray source. This is an excellent candidate for studying the disc evolution at super-Eddington accretion rates, because its luminosity spans several orders of magnitude during its outburst, with a maximum LX that exceeded the Eddington limit by a factor of ~10. Our method, when applied to RX J0520.5-6932 and RX J0209-7427, is able to identify the more favourable torque model for each system, while yielding meaningful ranges for the NS and orbital parameters. Our analysis for Swift J0243.6+6124 illustrates that, contrary to the standard torque model predictions, the magnetospheric radius (Rm) and the Alfvén radius (RA) are not proportional to each other when surpassing the Eddington limit. Reported distance estimates of this source range between 5 and 7 kpc. Smaller distances require non-typical neutron star properties (i.e. mass and radius) and possibly lower radiative efficiency of the accretion column.

Authored by a diverse group of contributors, Big Science in the 21st Century offers a multifaceted view of the challenges, merits, and transformations of Big Science across different disciplines and geographical boundaries. It delves into the transformative role of Big Science in shaping the world we live in, from its historical roots in the aftermath of the Second World War to its contemporary interdisciplinary and international nature. The book is organized in five parts, each offering unique insights into the impact of Big Science. The first part looks at lessons from Big Science organizations and best practices in increasing the return of benefits to society. The second part offers the voice of key economists who have worked on assessment exercises concerning the socioeconomic benefits of large-scale research infrastructures. The third part traces the development of Big Science in the aftermath of World War II. The fourth part focus on the educational and cultural impacts that Big Science has beyond the laboratory, from the art gallery to the school classroom. The last part brings a more global perspective with contributions from other continents outside North America and Western Europe. The book is aimed at professionals involved in science policy and administration, economists interested in evaluating the results of scientific research, historians of science and technology, and anyone with an interest in scientific outreach and communication. 

The names of plants cited in Hypnerotomachia Poliphili have been re-examined. According to our survey, we suggest increasing the previously published botanical entities quoted in this book; therefore, 46 botanical entities and 100 textual passages linked to botanical entries are presented, completing the previously published botanical content of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. The botanical section of the novel Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, which constitutes a literary source of information, includes in total 331 botanical entities associated with 772 textual passages, providing aesthetic, cultural, symbolic and physical pathways that animated the world of plants.

Context. The Magellanic Clouds are our nearest star-forming galaxies. While the population of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) in the Small Magellanic Cloud is relatively well studied, our knowledge about the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is far from complete given its large angular extent and the insufficient coverage with X-ray observations. Aims: We conducted a search for new HMXBs in the LMC using data from eROSITA, the soft X-ray instrument on board the Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma satellite. Methods: After confirming the nature of eRASSU J052914.9−662446 as a hard X-ray source that is positionally coincident with an early-type star, we followed it up with optical spectroscopic observations from the South African Large Telescope (SALT) and a dedicated NuSTAR observation. Results: We study the broadband timing and spectral behaviour of the newly discovered HMXB eRASSU J052914.9−662446 through eROSITA, Swift, and NuSTAR data in X-rays and the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) and SALT RSS data at the optical wavelength. We report the detection of a spin period at 1412 s and suggest that the orbital period of the system is ∼151 days. We thereby establish that eRASSU J052914.9−662446 is an accreting pulsar. Furthermore, through optical spectroscopic observations and the detection of Hα emission, the source is identified as a Be X-ray binary pulsar in the LMC. We also investigated the variability of the source in the optical and X-ray regime over the past decades and provide estimates of the possible magnetic field strength of the neutron star.

This study examines the impact of light absorption from biomass burning (BB) brown carbon (BrC) in the Mediterranean basin from local and distant fire incidents during a typical fire season in August 2019 and under severe fire activity in August 2021. The approaches of Saleh et al. (2014) and Wang et al. (2018) are used to describe the BrC absorption within the WRF-Chem model. Focusing on three regions in the Mediterranean (around the islands of Sicily, Malta, and Crete) that are most affected by BB activity, BrC absorption approximates 5 Mm−1 in OC concentrations up to 3 μg m−3 and can approach 15 Mm−1 in extreme conditions (up to 10 μg m−3). When photochemical bleaching is considered, BrC undergoes almost immediate bleaching upon emission due to high levels of OH radical in the Mediterranean atmosphere during summertime, decreasing light absorption between 56% and 75% under both average and extreme BB conditions. Cloud formation is facilitated above the PBL due to moisture increase induced by BrC at the area of fire events, while transported drier and warmer air masses tend to dissipate cloud formation further away from the BB source. The impact of BrC absorption on irradiances is small (up to −6 W m−2 in extreme conditions) and is often overlapped by the absorption from water vapour variations. BrC direct radiative effect (DRE) is estimated at 0.04 W m−2 (∼10% of BC) in average and 0.18 W m−2 in extreme BB activity under clear sky. Under all sky, low-level clouds dissipation in 2019 with average BB emissions enhances DRE (at 0.15 W m−2), while the higher clouds dissipation in 2021 limits DRE (at 0.11 W m−2) resulting in lower DRE despite the extreme BB conditions.

Nanostructured noble metal surfaces enhance the photoluminescence emitted by fluorescent molecules, permitting the development of highly sensitive fluorescence immunoassays. To this end, surfaces with silicon nanowires decorated with silver nanoparticles in the form of dendrites or aggregates were evaluated as substrates for the immunochemical detection of two ovarian cancer indicators, carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4). The substrates were prepared by metal-enhanced chemical etching of silicon wafers to create, in one step, silicon nanowires and silver nanoparticles on top of them. For both analytes, non-competitive immunoassays were developed using pairs of highly specific monoclonal antibodies, one for analyte capture on the substrate and the other for detection. In order to facilitate the identification of the immunocomplexes through a reaction with streptavidin labeled with Rhodamine Red-X, the detection antibodies were biotinylated. An in-house-developed optical set-up was used for photoluminescence signal measurements after assay completion. The detection limits achieved were 2.5 U/mL and 3.12 pM for CA125 and HE4, respectively, with linear dynamic ranges extending up to 500 U/mL for CA125 and up to 500 pM for HE4, covering the concentration ranges of both healthy and ovarian cancer patients. Thus, the proposed method could be implemented for the early diagnosis and/or prognosis and monitoring of ovarian cancer.

Charge injection and transport interlayers play a crucial role in many classes of optoelectronics, including organic and perovskite ones. Here, we demonstrate the beneficial role of carbon nanodots, both pristine and nitrogen-functionalized, as electron transport materials in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic solar cells (OSCs). Pristine (referred to as C-dots) and nitrogen-functionalized (referred to as NC-dots) carbon dots are systematically studied regarding their properties by using cyclic voltammetry, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy in order to reveal their energetic alignment and possible interaction with the organic semiconductor’s emissive layer. Atomic force microscopy unravels the ultra-thin nature of the interlayers. They are next applied as interlayers between an Al metal cathode and a conventional green-yellow copolymer—in particular, (poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-co-(1,4-benzo-{2,1′,3}-thiadiazole)], F8BT)—used as an emissive layer in fluorescent OLEDs. Electrical measurements indicate that both the C-dot- and NC-dot-based OLED devices present significant improvements in their current and luminescent characteristics, mainly due to a decrease in electron injection barrier. Both C-dots and NC-dots are also used as cathode interfacial layers in OSCs with an inverted architecture. An increase of nearly 10% in power conversion efficiency (PCE) for the devices using the C-dots and NC-dots compared to the reference one is achieved. The application of low-cost solution-processed materials in OLEDs and OSCs may contribute to their wide implementation in large-area applications.

Here, we present an olfactory-dependent chemotaxis assay for evaluating changes in memory-like behavior in both wild-type and Alzheimer's-disease-like C. elegans models. We describe steps for synchronizing and preparing C. elegans populations and for performing isoamyl alcohol conditioning during starvation and chemotaxis assaying. We then detail counting and quantification procedures. This protocol is applicable to mechanistic exploration and drug screening in neurodegenerative diseases and brain aging.

Earth Observation (EO) is widely recognized as a powerful tool for Climate Change and Sustainability Education (CCSE); however, the uptake of EO data in schools is still limited due to technical, motivational, or informational barriers. A major factor for the exploitation of EO in schools is the availability of curriculum-relevant pedagogical content that is attractive and personally meaningful to learners. Here, we examine whether an EO-based learning scenario developed for primary schools and implemented by EO novice teachers and students, based solely on written instructions, can serve as an effective entry point for incorporating EO into schools and addressing CCSE objectives. Our study showed that: (a) cloud-based EO tools are suitable for EO-novice teachers and students, who quickly become familiar with them and grasp basic EO concepts; (b) the combined use of EO-based and place-based learning helps students bridge the local and the global perspective of Climate Change (CC) impacts; (c) EO-based educational material stimulates students’ interest for satellites and EO technology; (d) the phenomenon-based approach grabs students’ attention, provokes their curiosity, and acts as a springboard for scientific inquiry on CC impacts; and (e) our scenario’s learning approaches promoted teachers’ upskilling and intra-school collaboration.

Geomorphological and sedimentological indicators are often used to reconstruct not only coastal evolution, but also relative sea level changes. In this work, we studied the coastal sediments of Psatha bay (Alkyonides Gulf, Greece) and beachrock outcrops in order to reconstruct the coastal evolution of the area. The drillings analysis included stratigraphy, sediment texture and radiocarbon dating. Detailed mapping of the beachrocks was accomplished using DGPS-GNSS, as well as mineralogical analysis and OSL dating of beachrock samples. The new beachrock index points indicate a sea level that fell by 0.64 ± 0.13 m since 2200 ± 210 years BP and by 0.95 ± 0.13 m since 4160 ± 320 years BP, as a direct result of its location near the uplifting footwall of Psatha fault, suggesting further a rate of tectonic uplift of ~0.26 mm/yr for the late Holocene.

Geomorphological and sedimentological indicators are often used to reconstruct not only coastal evolution, but also relative sea level changes. In this work, we studied the coastal sediments of Psatha bay (Alkyonides Gulf, Greece) and beachrock outcrops in order to reconstruct the coastal evolution of the area. The drillings analysis included stratigraphy, sediment texture and radiocarbon dating. Detailed mapping of the beachrocks was accomplished using DGPS-GNSS, as well as mineralogical analysis and OSL dating of beachrock samples. The new beachrock index points indicate a sea level that fell by 0.64 ± 0.13 m since 2200 ± 210 years BP and by 0.95 ± 0.13 m since 4160 ± 320 years BP, as a direct result of its location near the uplifting footwall of Psatha fault, suggesting further a rate of tectonic uplift of ~0.26 mm/yr for the late Holocene.

Contribution to Book Forum on The instrument of science: Scientific anti-realism revitalised by Darrell Rowbottom

In this paper, we present a systematic GIS-based approach for producing updated, upscaled, unified and reevaluated maps for the Ionian Islands of Greece, which is an area of great geological interest. In particular, Cephalonia and Lefkada are two islands with an increased and intense seismicity. Therefore, a common GIS geodatabase was produced for handling the geoinformation of the area. New upscaled (scale 1:50,000) geotechnical and seismotectonic maps of these islands were produced based on older ones. On the other hand, the corresponding maps of the islands, based on the categories of the Greek antiseismic code and Eurocode 8, were produced in an effort to correlate them. Beyond that, all the available isoseismal maps of the earthquakes that hit the Ionian Islands were gathered in an effort to evaluate them and to find possible correlations with the other types of maps. Based on the correlation results, the consideration of the Vs30 parameter in the Greek antiseismic code is proposed for a better categorization of the geological formations.

In this paper, we present a systematic GIS-based approach for producing updated, upscaled, unified and reevaluated maps for the Ionian Islands of Greece, which is an area of great geological interest. In particular, Cephalonia and Lefkada are two islands with an increased and intense seismicity. Therefore, a common GIS geodatabase was produced for handling the geoinformation of the area. New upscaled (scale 1:50,000) geotechnical and seismotectonic maps of these islands were produced based on older ones. On the other hand, the corresponding maps of the islands, based on the categories of the Greek antiseismic code and Eurocode 8, were produced in an effort to correlate them. Beyond that, all the available isoseismal maps of the earthquakes that hit the Ionian Islands were gathered in an effort to evaluate them and to find possible correlations with the other types of maps. Based on the correlation results, the consideration of the Vs30 parameter in the Greek antiseismic code is proposed for a better categorization of the geological formations.

In several MIMO system applications, the deviations of some output performance variables from their nominal values are required to be controlled independently, while the other performance variables are required to remain at their nominal value. This problem, named noninteracting control with simultaneous partial output zeroing, is important in the case of the common design of multi-model systems. To this end, the problem of a common noninteracting control with simultaneous common partial output zeroing is formulated. The present paper aims to develop a solution to the problem of multi-model normal linear time-invariant systems via regular and static measurement output feedback. The present approach follows the method developed for the solution of the common I/O decoupling problem. The main results of the paper are the introduction and the formulation of the problem at hand, the establishment of the necessary and sufficient conditions for its solvability, and the derivation of the respective general solution of the controller matrices. For the resulting closed-loop system, the additional design requirement of approximate command following a simultaneous I/O stabilizability is studied using a composite norm 2 type cost function and a metaheuristic algorithm for the derivation of the free parameters of the controller. The present results are illustrated through a numerical example of a nonlinear process with two operating points. Moreover, all the above results are successfully applied to the two-model description of a robot-tracked UGV, using a common controller feeding back measurements of the motor currents and the orientation of the vehicle.

This article considers the rituals and ceremonies celebrating the French pro-communist activist, Eugénie Cotton, president of the Union des Femmes françaises (UFF – Union of French Women) and of the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), and the way Cotton was elevated to the rank of universal authority, exemplifying virtues not unrelated to the model of the Virgin Mary. This exploration of the enactment of the female version of the cult of the leader in the communist world during the Cold War contrasts with the masculine focus of the substantial historiographical production of the last twenty years on this topic. The paper examines the circumstances that gave birth to the “Cotton cult,” the key moments in its evolution, the mechanisms of its diffusion, and the gender shifts in the process of its invention.

INTRODUCTION: Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (FHA) has been associated with excessive-chronic stress, eating disorders, and weight loss. A common feature is the increased serum cortisol, but its measurement has many limitations. Currently, salivary cortisol (SC) has been proposed as a more sensitive and adequate index. AIM: To investigate the SC alterations through a 24-h period and the possible correlation with the severity of stress in women with FHA. METHODS: Between July 2019 and March 2021, 12 FHA women and 12 healthy controls of comparable age were included. Psychological, eating, and physical abnormalities were evaluated by applying equivalent validated self-questionnaires. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between FHA women and healthy individuals with respect to morning (8:00 am) serum cortisol and ACTH (522.5 ± 162.2 vs 442 ± 138.5 nmol/l; p = 0.204 and 37 ± 44.8 vs 17.4 ± 10.8 pg/ml; p = 0.186, respectively). Women with FHA had statistically significant higher morning SC compared to control subjects (21.8 ± 5.9 nmol/l vs 12.8 ± 3.8 nmol/l; p {\textless} 0.001), while no significant differences were found regarding the afternoon (4:00 pm) and midnight (12:00 am) SC. A significant positive correlation was found between morning SC and morning serum cortisol (rho = 0.532; p = 0.007), EAT-26 (rho = 0.527; p = 0.008) and HADS-Anxiety score (rho = 0.471; p = 0.02). Additionally, a significant negative correlation between morning SC and BMI was observed (rho = -0.53; p = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Compared to serum cortisol, SC seems to express better the hypercortisolemic state of women with FHA and correlates well with the underlying contributing factors. Larger studies are needed in order to confirm these results and validate the optimal SC cut-off value associated with the development of FHA.

Neutron star high-mass X-ray binaries with superorbital modulations in luminosity host warped inner accretion disks that occult the neutron star during precession. In SMC X-1, the instability in the warped disk geometry causes superorbital period "excursions": times of instability when the superorbital period decreases from its typical value of 55 to ~40 days. Disk instability makes SMC X-1 an ideal system in which to investigate the effects of variable disk geometry on the inner accretion flow. Using the high-resolution spectral and timing capabilities of the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, we examined the high state of four different superorbital cycles of SMC X-1 to search for changes in spectral shape and connections to the unstable disk geometry. We performed pulse phase-averaged and phase-resolved spectroscopy to closely compare the changes in spectral shape and any cycle-to-cycle variations. While some parameters, including the photon index and absorbing column density, show slight variations with superorbital phase, these changes are most evident during the intermediate state of the superorbital cycle. Few spectral changes are observed within the high state of the superorbital cycle, possibly indicating the disk instability does not significantly change SMC X-1's accretion process.

Neutron star high mass X-ray binaries that exhibit superorbital variability offer an opportunity to study the geometry and stability of warped accretion disks. The high mass X-ray binary SMC X-1 is an ideal system in which to investigate these questions because the supeorbital period has epochs of instability known as excursions likely caused by disk instability. Using the high resolution spectral and timing capabilities of the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) we examined the high state of four different superorbital cycles of SMC X-1 to search for short term changes in spectral shape and any connection to the unstable accretion disk geometry. We performed phase averaged and phase resolved spectroscopy, as well as principal component analysis to closely compare the spectral characteristics and any cycle-to-cycle variations. While soft, disk-related spectral components showed variations with time, the accretion column related parameters (i.e. photon index) remained mostly constant, indicating that the disk instability does not significantly change SMC X-1's accretion process.

The Athenet network is the network of the Seismological Laboratory of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. We present the geophysical investigation that has been carried out at six seismological stations of the Athenet network for their site characterization. More specifically, at the location of each seismological station, four geophysical methods have been carried out: Seismic Refraction Tomography (SRT), Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW), the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) technique, and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). The applied geophysical survey provided important information regarding the site characterization at the selected seismological stations, including key parameters such as the fundamental frequency fo, the shear-wave velocity VS, the average shear-wave velocity for the upper 30 m depth (VS30), the seismic bedrock depth, the soil type, and the subsurface geology. Moreover, selected elastic moduli (Poisson’s ratio, shear, bulk, and Young moduli) have been calculated. The site characterization information contributes to the determination of the amplification factors for each site that can lead to more accurate calculation of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) or Peak Ground Velocity (PGV) and, therefore, trustworthy Probabilistic and Stochastic Seismic Hazard Assessments. The derived fundamental frequency for the seismological stations of VILL, LOUT, THAL, and EPID have been determined to be equal to 10.4, 2.7, 1.4, and 7.1 Hz and their amplification factors to be 1.9, 3.1, 1.7, and 2.6, respectively. For stations MDRA and ATAL, these parameters could not be determined.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible correlation between peripheral blood biomarkers and morphological characteristics of retinal imaging in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO). METHODS: Participants in this cross-sectional observational study were 65 consecutive patients (65 eyes) with treatment-naive RVO, who underwent spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). In addition, peripheral blood samples were taken to evaluate full blood count and biochemical parameters. The association between imaging characteristics and laboratory parameters was examined. RESULTS: Eyes with subretinal fluid presented significantly higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (p = 0.028). Hyperreflective foci on SD-OCT were found to be associated with higher triglyceride levels (p = 0.024). The presence of cysts on SD-OCT was associated with significantly higher triglycerides (p = 0.010). Central subfield thickness (CST) higher than 464 mum was associated with higher lymphocyte count (p = 0.016) and higher urea (p = 0.015). No significant associations were found between laboratory parameters and intraretinal fluid, ellipsoid zone and external limiting membrane condition, or epiretinal membrane and macular ischemia. CONCLUSIONS: Specific imaging morphological characteristics were found to be associated with laboratory parameters in patients with RVO. These findings may help reveal the pathophysiology of RVO and its correlation with the development of specific clinical signs, while they could guide individualized treatment

Cosmetic labiaplasty is a form of Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery (FGCS) that is performed with the deliberate intent to alter the appearance and morphology of the external genitalia in the absence of medical concerns. Over the last decade, there is an increasing demand for FGCS and the industry behind it is constantly growing. Adolescents comprise an extremely vulnerable population, with labiaplasties in this particular age group having also increased. However, labiaplasty has been widely contested due to the irrevocable alteration of a psychosexually significant body part on minors too young to consent. Besides, the changes that occur during pubertal development in the genital area can significantly alter pediatric surgical results. Genital anatomy is more diverse than we previously thought and there is evidence to suggest that the labia minora with their rich innervation play an important role in sexual arousal and pleasure. Education regarding the wide range of normal genital appearance suffices in most cases to dissolve concerns regarding body self-image. Mental health issues should always be explored and, if identified, the girl should be referred to an experienced professional for their resolution. Postponing labiaplasty until adulthood is strongly recommended to help adolescents achieve a well-informed decision regarding an irreversible procedure with possible adverse esthetic and functional outcomes.

Background: While hospital-based Palliative Care services are usually covered through the main funding healthcare framework, traditional reimbursement methods have been criticized for their appropriateness. The present study investigates for the first time the case of treating end-of-life cancer patients in a Greek public hospital in terms of cost and reimbursement. Methods: This retrospective observational study used health administrative data of 135 deceased cancer patients who were hospitalized in the end of their lives. Following the cost estimation procedure, which indentified both the individual patient and overhead costs, we compared the relevant billing data and reimbursement requests to the estimated costs. Results: The average total cost per patient per day was calculated to be 97 EUR, with equal participation of individual patient's and overhead costs. Length of stay was identified as the main cost driver. Reimbursement was performed either by per-diem fees or by Diagnosis Related Groups’ (DRGs), which were correspondingly associated with under or over reimbursement risks. In the case of the combined use of the two available reimbursement alternatives a cross-subsidization phenomenon was described. Conclusion: Although the cost of end-of-life care proved to be quite low, the national per-diem rate fails to cover it. DRGs designed for acute care needs are rather unsuitable for such sub acute hospitalizations. Policy summary: There is a concrete need for reconsidering the current reimbursement schemes for this group of patients as part of any national plan concerning the integration and reformation of Palliative Care services. Otherwise, there is a serious danger for public institutions’ reluctance to admit them with a serious impact on access and equity of end-of-life cancer care. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles that serve as the primary cellular energy-generating system. Apart from ATP production, they are essential for many biological processes, including calcium homeostasis, lipid biogenesis, ROS regulation and programmed cell death, which collectively render them invaluable for neuronal integrity and function. Emerging evidence indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction and altered mitochondrial dynamics are crucial hallmarks of a wide variety of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions. At the same time, the gut microbiome has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders due to the bidirectional communication between the gut and the central nervous system, known as the gut-brain axis. Here we summarize new insights into the complex interplay between mitochondria, gut microbiota and neurodegeneration, and we refer to animal models that could elucidate the underlying mechanisms, as well as novel interventions to tackle age-related neurodegenerative conditions, based on this intricate network.

On October 30, 2020, 11:51 UTC, a large shallow earthquake of moment magnitude Mw7.0 ruptured the eastern Aegean Sea area and affected several Greek islands, mainly Samos, as well as the Izmir area, western Turkey. A moderate damaging tsunami followed the earthquake and inundated many coastal zones in the area. At 12:15 UTC, the Greek Civil Protection sent to the residents of the eastern Aegean Sea Greek islands a tsunami alert via SMS through the single European emergency phone number 112. It has been the first time that a tsunami warning was publicly issued in the frame of the North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean Tsunami Warning System (NEAMTWS/IOC/UNESCO) since the system became operational during the summer of 2012. Through an on-line questionnaire survey conducted soon after the event we investigated the impact the tsunami 112 alert message had among the population. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the 112 number as a tool for tsunami early warning, to look after possible weaknesses that may need future improvements and to better understand the level of tsunami risk awareness among the population. The response received from 344 citizens clearly indicates that the particular tsunami alert in general had positive impact to the message recipients, but highlights several weaknesses of the tsunami emergency management chain in Greece and demonstrates some aspects of the 112 system that need improvement.

This study introduces an innovative Cumulative Link Modeling approach to monitor crop progress over large areas using remote sensing data. The models utilize the predictive attributes of calendar time, thermal time, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Two distinct issues are tackled: real-time crop progress prediction, and completed season fitting. In the context of prediction, the study presents two model variations, the standard one based on the Multinomial distribution and a novel one based on the Multivariate Binomial distribution. In the context of fitting, random effects are incorporated to capture the inherent inter-seasonal variability, allowing the estimation of biological parameters that govern crop development and determine stage completion requirements. Theoretical properties in terms of consistency, asymptotic normality, and distribution-misspecification are reviewed. Model performance was evaluated on eight crops, namely corn, oats, sorghum, soybeans, winter wheat, alfalfa, dry beans, and millet, using in-situ data from Nebraska, USA, spanning a 20-year period. The results demonstrate the wide applicability of this approach to different crops, providing real-time predictions of crop progress worldwide, solely utilizing open-access data. To facilitate implementation, an ecosystem of R packages has been developed and made publicly accessible under the name Ages of Man.

We report comprehensive spectral and temporal properties of the Be/X-ray binary pulsar SMC X-2 using X-ray observations during the 2015 and 2022 outbursts. The pulse profile of the pulsar is unique and strongly luminosity dependent. It evolves from a broad-humped into a double-peaked profile above luminosity 3 × 1038 erg s-1. The pulse fraction of the pulsar is found to be a linear function of luminosity as well as energy. We also studied the spectral evolution of the source during the latest 2022 outburst with NICER. The observed photon index shows a negative and positive correlation below and above the critical luminosity, respectively, suggesting evidence of spectral transition from the sub-critical to supercritical regime. The broad-band spectroscopy of four sets of NuSTAR and XRT/NICER data from both outbursts can be described using a cut-off power-law model with a blackbody component. In addition to the 6.4 keV iron fluorescence line, an absorption-like feature is clearly detected in the spectra. The cyclotron line energy observed during the 2015 outburst is below 29.5 keV, however latest estimates in the 2022 outburst suggest a value of 31.5 keV. Moreover, an increase of 3.4 keV is detected in the cyclotron line energy at equal levels of luminosity observed in 2022 with respect to 2015. The observed cyclotron line energy variation is explored in terms of accretion induced screening mechanism or geometrical variation in line forming region.

Darwin and Newton: Lives (Non) Parallels. On the 20th of March, we are to honor the death of Isaac Newton as we celebrated previously, Darwin's Day in middle February. Much has been written about their work, but I just want to remind that in 1859 Darwin published his findings in the book "The Origin of Species", arguing that the species of living organisms do not remain unchanged, as Aristotle and the book of Genesis argued, but have a common origin and through natural selection evolve over millennia. This position generated strong reactions from the first moment, mainly from the Church, who believes that the creation of the world is the result of Divine Grace. Darwin was labeled an atheist and mocked as a descendant of monkeys, while some of his supporters were dragged to court (Trial of the Apes). Today, more than a century after his death, the scientific community has accepted his theory, which has since been verified through numerous observations and newer discoveries. A recent visit to the Mausoleum at Westminster in London made me think and led me to write this text

Darwin and Newton: Lives (Non) Parallels. On the 20th of March, we are to honor the death of Isaac Newton as we celebrated previously, Darwin's Day in middle February. Much has been written about their work, but I just want to remind that in 1859 Darwin published his findings in the book "The Origin of Species", arguing that the species of living organisms do not remain unchanged, as Aristotle and the book of Genesis argued, but have a common origin and through natural selection evolve over millennia. This position generated strong reactions from the first moment, mainly from the Church, who believes that the creation of the world is the result of Divine Grace. Darwin was labeled an atheist and mocked as a descendant of monkeys, while some of his supporters were dragged to court (Trial of the Apes). Today, more than a century after his death, the scientific community has accepted his theory, which has since been verified through numerous observations and newer discoveries. A recent visit to the Mausoleum at Westminster in London made me think and led me to write this text

École Giffard, Institut supérieur d’études françaises, Institut français d’Athènes ou Institut français de Grèce… l’établissement fondé en 1907 par l’École française d’Athènes a connu plusieurs dénominations et de nombreuses mutations, mais n’a jamais failli à ses missions fondamentales : non seulement travailler à la diffusion de la langue française en Grèce, mais aussi et surtout favoriser le dialogue entre les cultures des deux pays. Depuis sa création, au début du XXe siècle, ses transformations accompagnent l’évolution de la société grecque, grâce à l’action déterminée de tous ceux qui le dirigent et l’animent. Autrefois fréquenté par des dizaines de milliers d’élèves et doté d’un vaste réseau d’annexes, il est aujourd’hui un acteur essentiel de la vie culturelle grecque : nombreux sont les écrivains, peintres, sculpteurs, musiciens et metteurs en scènes, ainsi que les scientifiques de toutes les disciplines, qui ont franchi et franchissent encore ses portes. Cet ouvrage, qui s’appuie sur un vaste éventail de sources inédites et de documents d’archives, retrace les grandes étapes de cette histoire commune.

On 6 February 2023, southeastern Turkey was struck by two major earthquakes that devastated 11 provinces. Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed and more were later demolished. During post-event field surveys conducted by the authors, several disposal sites set up in the most affected provinces were detected and checked for suitability. Based on field observations on the properties of sites and their surrounding areas as well as on the implemented debris management activities, it is concluded that all sites had characteristics that did not allow them to be classified as safe for earthquake debris management. This inadequacy is mainly attributed to their proximity to areas, where thousands of people reside. As regards the environmental impact, these sites were operating within or close to surface water bodies. This situation reveals a rush for rapid recovery resulting in serious errors in the preparation and implementation of disaster management plans. In this context, measures for effective debris management are proposed based on the existing scientific knowledge and operational experience. This paper aims to highlight challenges during earthquakes debris management and related threats posed to public health and the environment in order to be avoided in future destructive events.

The tool assesses natural factors and the impact of human activities as well as the available mitigation measures in a cost-benefit perspective and with a view to mitigating the impacts of climate change. Therefore, the tool is designed to respond to both erosion (as a natural disaster) and erosion due to human (inappropriate) intervention, as well as CM&D (eg, sea level rise, extreme wave events). The innovation of the project is based on the creation of a multi-parameter decision making tool (ILIDA_KIT) related to climate change mitigation and resilience to coastal erosion and extreme wave events in the context of integrated coastal zone management. ILIDA_KIT relies on a multi-disciplinary interactive platform in a GIS environment that through the development of a set of appropriate indicators (environmental, anthropogeographic, economic) can be parameterised. The ultimate purpose of the tool is to select the most appropriate intervention (intensity, size, time horizon) measure, based on the costbenefit analysis, considering both the protection and the sustainable development of the coastal zone.

Wastewater analysis is the most attractive alternative way for the quantification and variant profiling of SARS-CoV-2. Infection dynamics can be monitored by RT-qPCR assays while NGS can provide evidence for the presence of existing or new emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. Herein, apart from the infection dynamic in Attica since June 1st, 2021, the monitoring of 9 mutations of the omicron and 4 mutations of the delta SARS-CoV-2 variants, utilizing both novel Nested-Seq and RT-PCR, is reported and the substitution of the delta variant (B.1.617.2) by the omicron variant (B.1.1.529) in Attica, Greece within approximately one month is highlighted. The key difference between the two methodologies is discovery power. RT-PCR can only detect known sequences cost-effectively, while NGS is a hypothesis-free approach that does not require prior knowledge to detect novel genes. Overall, the potential of wastewater genomic surveillance for the early discovery and monitoring of variants important for disease management at the community level is underlined. This is the first study, reporting the SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamic for an extended time period and the first attempt to monitor two of the most severe variants with two different methodologies in Greece.

Light Detection And Range (LiDAR) data have been used in numerous case studies, related to fast-developing landslides and rockfalls, producing remarkably precise Digital Terrain Models (DTMs). When these models are coupled to classic near-surface geophysical methods, they result in the high-accuracy mapping of the open surface and subsurface morphology, an essential element for a modern coastal management study. In this work, we introduce the diachronic monitoring and detection of alterations on the surface of the active fault of Psatha (Greece), via a multiple-phase study within a period of 11 years, by using terrestrial LiDAR scans and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). The successful combination of these techniques is being used to reveal and quantify the landscape evolution involving the surface alterations at the fault adjacent coastal zone, the sea intrusion, and even the coastline displacement, in any coastal area characterized by similar features.

Light Detection And Range (LiDAR) data have been used in numerous case studies, related to fast-developing landslides and rockfalls, producing remarkably precise Digital Terrain Models (DTMs). When these models are coupled to classic near-surface geophysical methods, they result in the high-accuracy mapping of the open surface and subsurface morphology, an essential element for a modern coastal management study. In this work, we introduce the diachronic monitoring and detection of alterations on the surface of the active fault of Psatha (Greece), via a multiple-phase study within a period of 11 years, by using terrestrial LiDAR scans and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT).The successful combination of these techniques is being used to reveal and quantify the landscape evolution involving the surface alterations at the fault adjacent coastal zone, the sea intrusion, and even the coastline displacement, in any coastal area characterized by similar features.

Credit card customers comprise a volatile subset of a banks' client base. As such, banks would like to predict in advance which of those clients are likely to attrite, so as to approach them with proactive marketing campaigns. Neuronets have found great application in many classification problems. Credit card attrition is a poorly investigated subtopic that poses many challenges, such as highly imbalanced datasets. The goal of this research is to construct a feed-forward neuronet that can overcome such obstacles and thus accurately classify credit card attrition. To this end, we employ a weights and structure determination (WASD) algorithm that facilitates the development of a competitive and all around robust classifier whilst accounting for the shortcomings of traditional back propagation neuronets. This is supported by the fact that when compared with some of the best performing classification models that MATLAB's classification learner app offers, the power softplus activated WASD neuronet demonstrated either superior or highly competitive performance across all metrics.

Στόχος του άρθρου αυτού είναι να υπογραμμίσει ότι η σημερινή χρήση του πάρκου αντιβαίνει στους ιδεολογικούς και λειτουργικούς στόχους τηςδημιουργίας του, όπως αυτοί καθορίστηκαν από τον Frederick Law Olmsted. Όχι μόνο αλλοιώνεται η ταυτότητά του, αλλά η εκχώρηση αποφασιστικών αρμοδιοτήτων ενός τόσο σημαντικού φυσικού και  ιστορικού μνημείου της πόλης στην ιδιωτική, μη κυβερνητική οργάνωση γνωστή ως Central Park Conservancy τείνει να εμπορευματοποιήσει τη χρήση του, γεγονός το οποίο οδηγεί στην τουριστικοποίησή του και στην παραγωγή πολιτικής, κοινωνικής και οικονομικής υπεραξίας. Μέσα από τη μελέτη λογοτεχνικών και κινηματογραφικών αναπαραστάσεων και άλλων καλλιτεχνικών αφηγήσεων, διαφαίνεται ανάγλυφα η σύνδεση ανάμεσα στη νοηματοδότηση και ερμηνεία του πάρκου και τους τρόπους διαχείρισης, εκμετάλλευσης και ελέγχου του. Ωστόσο, επειδή ο γεωγραφικός χώρος δεν είναι στατικός και κανένας τόπος δεν διεκδικεί μια και μοναδική διαχρονική ταυτότητα, ο χώρος του Σέντραλ Παρκ γίνεται πεδίο συγκρουόμενων απόψεων σχετικά με την παρούσα και τη μελλοντική του λειτουργία.

INTRODUCTION: Antidepressants are widely used for the pharmacological treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. Since the eruption of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic and the later development of targeted treatments against COVID-19, inevitably many patients receive antidepressants as well as targeted treatments against COVID-19 against COVID-19. Co-administration of antidepressants with COVID-19 therapeutics has the potential of drug-drug interactions, of varying severity and clinical significance. AREAS COVERED: This is a curated narrative review of the current state of the art regarding drug-drug interactions between COVID-19 therapeutics and medications licensed for the pharmacotherapy of depression. A systematic search of electronic databases, using as keywords the international nonproprietaty names of currently approved COVID-19 therapeutics and antidepressants was performed, and additionally online interaction checker tools were consulted. Derived data were synthesized for each COVID-19 therapeutic and presented with up-to-date guidance. EXPERT OPINION: Several COVID-19 therapeutics have potential for drug-drug interactions with antidepressants. Remdesivir and Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir have the higher risk, whereas several monoclonal antibodies appear safer. The most serious drug-drug interactions (serotonin syndrome and QTc prolongation) require close monitoring; however, DDI toward reducing the efficacy of antidepressants may be difficult to recognize. As COVID-19 treatment protocols take precedence, psychiatrists should exert flexibility in antidepressant use and proactively monitor treatment progress.

We present the first results for the dust-scattering rings of GRB 221009A, coined as the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) of the century, as observed by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We perform analysis of both time resolved observations and stacked data. The former approach enable us to study the expansion of the most prominent rings, associate their origin with the prompt X-ray emission of the GRB and determine the location of the dust layers. The stacked radial profiles increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the data and allows detection of fainter and overlapping peaks in the angular profile. We find a total of 16 dust concentrations (with hints of even more) that span about 15kpc in depth and could be responsible for the highly structured X-ray angular profiles. By comparing the relative scattered fluxes of the five most prominent rings we show that the layer with the largest amount of dust is located at about 0.44 kpc away from us. We finally compare the location of the dust layers with results from experiments that study the 3D structure of our Galaxy via extinction or CO radio observations, and highlight the complementarity of dust X-ray tomography to these approaches.

We report on NICER observations of the Be X-ray binary 4U 0115+63 during the rise of the source's current historic outburst, which began around 2023 March 28 and is the brightest recorded in 27 years.

On 6 February 2023, East Anatolia was devastated by two major earthquakes resulting in hundreds of thousands of collapses and tens of thousands of human casualties. This paper investigates the factors related to building properties and earthquake environmental effects (EEEs) that contributed to the building damage grade and distribution in southeastern Turkey. In regards to the building construction properties, the loose enforcement of the building code, the random urban planning solutions and the poor construction standards are the main construction deficiencies that led to one of the largest disasters in Turkey’s recent history. Regarding geological factors, the triggering of primary and secondary EEEs largely shaped the grade and distribution of damage. Where coseismic surface ruptures intersected with the built environment, heavy to very heavy structural damage was observed. This was evident in many cases along the ruptured segments of the East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ). Liquefaction observed close to waterbodies caused damage typical of building foundation load-bearing capacity loss. The earthquake-triggered landslides affected mainly mountainous and semi-mountainous settlements characterized with pre-earthquake high related susceptibility. The high susceptibility to generation of EEEs was extensively confirmed in many cases resulting in extensive damage. The provided information highlights the importance of such studies for hazard mitigation and disaster risk reduction.

This paper explores the efficacy of the geoeducational assessment method (GEOAM) in evaluating the geoeducational potential of geosites. Leveraging a case study involving four geotopes on the island of Samos, Aegean Sea, Greece, this study examines the strengths and limitations of the GEOAM approach, aiming to comprehensively elucidate its efficacy. The assessment outcomes illuminate the vital role of targeted strategies in enhancing the educational and sustainable impact of geosites, thereby fostering geological understanding and responsible environmental engagement. A prominent finding is the urgency to address the gap in foundational geological knowledge, underscored by the need for robust geoeducation programs at schools and the augmented presence of geologists. While acknowledging potential limitations, including subjectivity in scoring and data availability constraints, this study underscores the method’s broader contribution to societal goals. By integrating geoethic principles, GEOAM offers a comprehensive framework aligning with the objectives of geological comprehension and environmentally conscious practices.

This paper investigates the relationship between investors' attention, as measured by Google search queries, and equity implied volatility during the COVID-19 outbreak. Recent studies show that search investors' behavior data is an extremely abundant repository of predictive data, and investor-limited attention increases when the uncertainty level is high. Our study using data from thirteen countries across the globe during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (January–April 2020) examines whether the search “topic and terms” for the pandemic affect market participants’ expectations about future realized volatility. With the panic and uncertainty about COVID-19, our empirical findings show that increased internet searches during the pandemic caused the information to flow into the financial markets at a faster rate and thus resulting in higher implied volatility directly and via the stock return-risk relation. More specifically for the latter, the leverage effect in the VIX becomes stronger as Google search queries intensify. Both the direct and indirect effects on implied volatility, highlight a risk-aversion channel that operates during the pandemic. We also find that these effects are stronger in Europe than in the rest of the world. Moreover, in a panel vector autoregression framework, we show that a positive shock on stock returns may soothe COVID-related Google searches in Europe. Our findings suggest that Google-based attention to COVID-19 leads to elevated risk aversion in stock markets.

Defining efficient families of recurrent neural networks (RNN) models for solving time-varying nonlinear equations is an interesting research topic in applied mathematics. Accordingly, one of the underlying elements in designing RNN is the use of efficient nonlinear activation functions. The role of the activation function is to bring out an output from a set of input values that are supplied into a node. Our goal is to define new family of activation functions consisting of a fixed gain parameter and a functional part. Corresponding zeroing neural networks (ZNN) is defined, termed as varying-parameter improved zeroing neural network (VPIZNN), and applied to solving time-varying nonlinear equations. Compared with previous ZNN models, the new VPIZNN models reach an accelerated finite-time convergence due to the new time-varying activation function which is embedded into the VPIZNN design. Theoretical results and numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the superiority of the novel VPIZNN formula. The capability of the proposed VPIZNN models are demonstrated in studying and solving the Van der Pol equation and finding the root $$\root m \of {a(t)}$$.

How should we treat the liar and kindred paradoxes? A Theory of Truth argues that we should diverge from classical logic, and presents a new formal theory of truth. The theory does not incorporate contradictions and is not substructural, but deviates from classical logic significantly. It endorses principles like ‘No sentence is both true and false’ and ‘No sentence is neither true nor false’.The book starts with an introduction to the paradoxes, suitable for newcomers to the subject, before presenting its approach. Four versions of the theory are covered, extending the theory to a determinacy operator and to a full first-order language with quantifiers. Each includes all Tarskian biconditionals that can be formulated in its language. The author uses original methods to prove the consistency of each version and compares the theory to alternative non-classical theories, including Field’s paracomplete approach, Ripley’s nontransitive system and Zardini’s contraction-free calculus.

In recent years, advances in science and technology have improved our quality of life, enabling us to tackle diseases and increase human life expectancy. However, longevity is accompanied by an accretion in the frequency of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, creating a growing burden, with pervasive social impact for human societies. The cost of managing such chronic disorders and the lack of effective treatments highlight the need to decipher their molecular and genetic underpinnings, in order to discover new therapeutic targets. In this effort, the nematode serves as a powerful tool to recapitulate several disease-related phenotypes and provides a highly malleable genetic model that allows the implementation of multidisciplinary approaches, in addition to large-scale genetic and pharmacological screens. Its anatomical transparency allows the use of co-expressed fluorescent proteins to track the progress of neurodegeneration. Moreover, the functional conservation of neuronal processes, along with the high homology between nematode and human genomes, render extremely suitable for the study of human neurodegenerative disorders. This review describes nematode models used to study neurodegeneration and underscores their contribution in the effort to dissect the molecular basis of human diseases and identify novel gene targets with therapeutic potential.

The book Ottoman Monuments in Greece: Heritages Under Negotiation approaches the Ottoman monuments of Greece as the heritage of a historical period that lends itself to multiple readings. This collective work brings together and array of studies, covering a wide range of disciplines, including history of art, archaeology, architecture, and urban studies. Through rich unpublished archival, photographic, and epigraphic material, the authors of this edited volume, enrich our knowledge of the emblematic Ottoman monuments of Greece cities and foreground unknown aspects of the architecture of rural Greece. In the pages of the book Ottoman Monuments in Greece: heritages under negotiation, the stories of places, buildings, and people from Ottoman era to present days come alive. These stories constitute a major contribution to the dialogue on the status and role of this special heritage for Modern Greece. The critical analyses featured in this edited volume renew and broaden the research conducted in the fields of Ottoman studies and cultural heritage.

The volume offers an innovative and systematic exploration of the diverse ways in which Later Greek Epic interacts with the Latin literary tradition. Taking as a starting point the premise that it is probable for the Greek epic poets of the Late Antiquity to have been familiar with leading works of Latin poetry, either in the original or in translation, the contributions in this book pursue a new form of intertextuality, in which the leading epic poets of the Imperial era (Quintus of Smyrna, Triphiodorus, Nonnus, and the author of the Orphic Argonautica) engage with a range of models in inventive, complex, and often covert ways. Instead of asking, in other words, whether Greek authors used Latin models, we ask how they engaged with them and why they opted for certain choices and not for others. Through sophisticated discussions, it becomes clear that intertexts are usually systems that combine ideology, cultural traditions, and literary aesthetics in an inextricable fashion. The book will prove that Latin literature, far from being distinct from the Greek epic tradition of the imperial era, is an essential, indeed defining, component within a common literary and ideological heritage across the Roman empire.

Ένα νέο βιβλίο πολιτισμικής θεωρίας, αφιερωμένο στη συνύφανση της αρχαιολογίας και της αρχαιοφιλίας με τον πολιτικό λόγο, επίσημο και ανεπίσημο, στην Ελλάδα του 21ου αι. Σύμφωνα με τον συγγραφέα, η αρχαιοπολιτική αναδύεται ως μια σύνθετη μορφή βιοπολιτικής, εδραιωμένη στην πεποίθηση ότι οι υλικότητες του παρελθόντος καθορίζουν τον τρόπο που βιώνουμε το παρόν. Υπό αυτήν την έννοια, η αρχαιολογία συμβάλλει στη συγκρότηση του εθνικού βιο-προτύπου, οργανώνοντας τα σώματα των εθνικών υποκειμένων και καθορίζοντας τους τρόπους με τους οποίους οι πολίτες θα αφομοιώσουν αφηγήματα του εθνικού παρελθόντος στο δικό τους παρόν. Έτσι, η αρχαιοπολιτική συμβάλλει στον βιολογικό καθαρμό του εθνικού σώματος και στην αναγνώριση της κλασικής αρχαιότητας ως μιας λευκής πολιτισμικής κληρονομιάς.

Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) occurs in a significant percentage of patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of the present study was to examine the association of serum angiopoetin-2 (Ang2) levels and the presence of antibodies against angiotensin II type 1 (AT1R) and ndothelin A Recreptor (ETAR) with the outcome of patients with TMA and/or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allo-SCT. Analysis of our data showed that elevated serum Ang2 levels at the time of TMA diagnosis are significantly associated with increased non-relapse mortality and decreased overall survival. To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating an association between raised Ang2 levels and poor outcomes in patients with TMA. Antibodies against AT1R (AT1R-Abs) and ETAR (ETAR-Abs) were detected in 27% and 23% of the patients, respectively, but there was no association between the presence of autoantibodies and the outcome of patients with TMA. However, a significant finding was the strong positive correlation between the presence of AT1R-Abs with the occurrence of chronic fibrotic GVHD, such as scleroderma and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, raising the possibility of the contribution of autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of fibrotic GVHD manifestations

In this study, we developed active substrates consisting of Ag-decorated silicon nanowires on a Si substrate using a single-step Metal Assisted Chemical Etching (MACE) process, and evaluated their performance in the identification of low concentrations of Rhodamine 6G using surface-enhanced photoluminescence spectroscopy. Different structures with Ag-aggregates as well as Ag-dendrites were fabricated and studied depending on the etching parameters. Moreover, the addition of Au nanoparticles by simple drop-casting on the MACE-treated surfaces can enhance the photoluminescence significantly, and the structures have shown a Limit of Detection of Rhodamine 6G down to 10−12 M for the case of the Ag-dendrites enriched with Au nanoparticles.

Context. During the third all-sky survey (eRASS3), eROSITA, the soft X-ray instrument aboard Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma, detected a new hard X-ray transient, eRASSt J040515.6 − 745202, in the direction of the Magellanic Bridge. Aims: We arranged follow-up observations and searched for archival data to reveal the nature of the transient. Methods: Using X-ray observations with XMM-Newton, NICER, and Swift, we investigated the temporal and spectral behaviour of the source for over about 10 days. Results: The X-ray light curve obtained from the XMM-Newton observation with an ∼28 ks exposure revealed a type-I X-ray burst with a peak bolometric luminosity of at least 1.4 × 1037 erg s−1. The burst energetics are consistent with a location of the burster at the distance of the Magellanic Bridge. The relatively long exponential decay time of the burst of ∼70 s indicates that it ignited in a H-rich environment. The non-detection of the source during the other eROSITA surveys, twelve and six months before and six months after eRASS3, suggests that the burst was discovered during a moderate outburst which reached 2.6 × 1036 erg s−1 in persistent emission. During the NICER observations, the source showed alternating flux states with the high level at a similar brightness as during the XMM-Newton observation. This behaviour is likely caused by dips as also seen during the last hour of the XMM-Newton observation. Evidence for a recurrence of the dips with a period of ∼21.8 h suggests eRASSt J040515.6 − 745202 is a low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) system with an accretion disk seen nearly edge on. We identify a multi-wavelength counterpart to the X-ray source in UVW1 and g, r, i, and z images obtained by the optical/UV monitor on XMM-Newton and the Dark Energy Camera at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. The spectral energy distribution is consistent with radiation from an accretion disk which dominates the UV and from a cool late-type star detected in the optical to infrared wavelengths. Conclusions: After the discovery of X-ray bursts in M 31, the Magellanic Bridge is only the second location outside of the Milky Way where an X-ray burster was found. The burst uniquely identifies eRASSt J040515.6 − 745202 as an LMXB system with a neutron star. Its location in the Magellanic Bridge confirms the existence of an older stellar population which is expected if the bridge was formed by tidal interactions between the Magellanic Clouds, which stripped gas and stars from the clouds.

The COVID-19 pandemic really went viral (pun intended) and dominated the media and public discourse, often overshadowing coverage of the equally urgent climate crisis. Despite their distinct features, both crises share important characteristics, such as global impact, economic repercussions, and associations with biodiversity loss, which disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Based on the bibliometric analysis, a significant body of literature exists on the impact of climate change on virus transmission and the environmental consequences of the pandemic. This work focuses on articles that explore the COVID-19 crisis as a learning experiment for the climate crisis, suggesting that in both cases, mitigation policies are less costly than adaptation policies, a collective global response should be agreed upon through international agreements, support for vulnerable communities is crucial, and effective communication to policymakers and the public is paramount.

The La1-xCaxMnO3 series of compounds with antiferromagnetic ground states (x 1/2) have been extensively studied due to the novel spin, orbital, and charge-ordering states observed when the calcium concentration is a simple fraction (x = 1/2, 2/3, and 3/4). The ground states of these compositions have been explained by the Goodenough charge, orbital, and spin ordering model. An important issue remaining is the elucidation of how the ground state changes when x is not a simple number. Here we study the magnetic structure of La1-xCaxMnO3 for 0.51 x 0.69 using powder neutron diffraction measurements supported by magnetization data. For compositions with 0.51 x 0.56, the magnetic structure, which we term as an incommensurate charge exchange (CE) structure can be described by two propagation vectors kC = [1/2, 0, 1/2] and kE = [6E, 0, 1/2]. In the second one, the component parallel to the a* axis of the reciprocal lattice changes with the Mn4+ concentration x as 6E approximate to x - 1/2 providing, thus, an unambiguous signature of the adoption of an incommensurate magnetic structure. As x gradually increases, the diffraction data reveal that two magnetic phases-one adopting the incommensurate CE, and one adopting the commensurate "2/3" magnetic structure-co-exist in the concentration regime of 0.57 x 0.61. Around the simple fraction x = 2/3, the magnetic structure can be also described by three propagation vectors, the commensurate kE = [0, 0, 1/2], kC = [1/2, 0, 1/2], and an incommensurate k2/3 = [1/3 + 62/3, 0, 1/2] propagation vector with 62/3 taking negative/zero/positive values for x smaller than/equal to/larger than 2/3, respectively. Our experimental results for 0.51 x 0.56 are neither in favor of a stripe structure consisting of a fine mixture of x = 1/2 and x = 2/3 phases (phase separation) nor of a defect structure in which an appropriate amount of Mn3+-O sheets have been replaced by Mn4+-O sheets (defect structure). A sinusoidal modulated structure has been used as a possible candidate in explaining the experimental neutron diffraction magnetic Bragg peaks. This result may be linked to the presence of a mixed orbital state of the manganese ions.

The main contribution of this paper is to develop explicit expressions for the Drazin inverse of two kinds of anti-triangular block complex matrices under new assumptions. Further, we apply our results to obtain new formulae for the Drazin inverse of a 2 × 2 block complex matrix. We present a list of well-known results which are recovered in this paper. We give three examples to illustrate our new explicit expressions.

Although the association between interparental conflict and adolescent adjustment is well documented, the intervening mechanisms that explain this relationship are not fully understood. Guided by the spillover hypothesis and the self-determination theory, this study examined whether the associations among interparental conflict and adolescent depressive feelings and life satisfaction were explained by maternal autonomy support and, in turn, by adolescent need frustration. Participants were 925 Turkish adolescents (Mage = 16.08 years, SD = 0.31) and their mothers (Mage = 41.43, SD = 5.16). Results from path analysis showed that interparental conflict was related to lower maternal autonomy support, and in turn to higher adolescent need frustration. Greater need frustration, in turn, predicted higher adolescent depressive feelings and lower life satisfaction six months later. These findings suggested that conflictual parental relationships may predict adolescent adjustment through poor parenting and adolescent need frustration. The findings and related directions for future research are discussed in the context of self-determination theory and its role in advancing a process-oriented understanding of the familial and individual determinants of adolescent adjustment. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Parkinson’s Disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, currently affecting as high as 3% of the global population. Research suggests that up to 80% of patients manifest phonatory symptoms as early signs of the disease. In this respect, various systems have been developed that identify high risk patients by analyzing their speech using recordings obtained from natural dialogues and reading tasks conducted in clinical settings. However, most of them are centralized models, where training and inference take place on a single machine, raising concerns about data privacy and scalability. To address these issues, the current study migrates an existing, state-of-the-art centralized approach to the concept of federated learning, where the model is trained in multiple independent sessions on different machines, each with its own dataset. Therefore, the main objective is to establish a proof of concept for federated learning in this domain, demonstrating its effectiveness and viability. Moreover, the study aims to overcome challenges associated with centralized machine learning models while promoting collaborative and privacy-preserving model training.

Previous research findings demonstrate that both savoring ability and the presence of high-quality friendships play a significant role in enhancing one’s overall sense of wellbeing. However, these associations have not been thoroughly investigated within a diverse range of adults across their lifespans, nor have they been explored in the specific cultural context of Greece. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to delve into the relationships between close friendship quality, the utilization of savoring techniques, and wellbeing within the Greek cultural framework. The study involved 771 adults from Greece with an average age of 38.35 years, who completed the McGill Friendship Functions Questionnaire, the PERMA Profiler, and the Abridged Ways of Savoring Checklist. Results revealed that there exists a positive correlation between friendship quality and savoring strategies with overall wellbeing. Moreover, the study identified a significant association wherein a greater employment of savoring strategies was linked to higher levels of friendship quality. While this study contributes valuable insights, it also has limitations that warrant acknowledgment. Furthermore, suggestions for potential future research directions are proposed, and the implications of these findings are discussed in relation to interventions aimed at enhancing both friendships and the practice of savoring across various contexts.

The relationship between humans and the environment in the modern world is challenging. UNESCO Global Geoparks are current holistic approaches for protecting and managing geographical areas that emphasise local communities and sustainability. This paper attempts to review the grey literature of Greek universities through their academic repositories, regarding the research field referred to as Greek UNESCO Global Geoparks from 2000 to 2022 and using the keyword “Geopark” to determine possible future research directions. Through the systematic literature review methodology, from 138 bibliographic sources, 28 were selected, which met the predefined criteria. In general, there is a growing scientific–academic interest in Geoparks, which mainly concerns the aspects of geotourism (n = 7), geology (n = 6), management (n = 4), and education (n = 4). Future research directions may focus on promoting the socio-economic and cultural aspects of Geoparks, investing in collaborative management and governance of Geoparks, facing climate change and environmental challenges in Geoparks, and enhancing Geoenvironmental Education in Geoparks. Such approaches may serve the United Nation’s Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and cultivate cognitive and emotional bonds between local populations and the geoenvironment.

Post-fire geomorphic processes and associated risks are an important threat in Mediterranean environments. Currently, post-fire mass movement prediction has limited applications across the Mediterranean despite the abundance of both forest fires and landslide/debris flow disasters. This work applies a debris flow generation likelihood model to evaluate the probability of mass movement phenomena in different catchments of a burnt area, after a catastrophic fire near Schinos (Attica, Greece) in 2021. Then, it uses field observations from the area, recording mass movement phenomena after high-intensity rainfall events, to validate the results. The findings show that the model is successful in determining the probability of debris flow generation in the 21 basins of the study area, ranging from 0.05 to 0.893. The probability values show a statistically significant correlation (sig. = 0.001) with the actual debris flow occurrences in the area, and satisfactory results in terms of the model’s predictive ability, functioning well within the particular geo-environmental characteristics of the Mediterranean environment. The results establish the reliability of the approach as a tool to assess mass movement risks in a region with an abundance of post-fire related hazards and disastrous events.

BACKGROUND: Males with 5$\alpha$-reductase deficiency experience oligospermia or azoospermia, resulting in fertility problems. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present systemic review was to assess the fertility status of males with 5$\alpha$-reductase type 2 deficiency and explore how reproduction can be achieved in these patients. STUDY DESIGN: An extensive search of two databases (Pubmed and SCOPUS) was performed. Studies with original clinical data in patients with 5$\alpha$-reductase deficiency evaluating the impact of the disease on semen quality and quantity and pregnancy outcomes through assisted or natural conception methods were eligible to be included in this systematic review. RESULTS: A total of nine cases were identified based on the eligibility criteria, all of which included reports of successful reproduction in males with 5$\alpha$-reductase type 2 deficiency. DISCUSSION: In five individuals, assisted reproduction technology was used to achieve conception, highlighting its importance in solving the fertility problems that males with 5$\alpha$-reductase deficiency are facing. Potential future fertility is a further indication for assigning the male gender in diagnosed newborns. CONCLUSION: In order to achieve this, the development of a management plan starting at birth is crucial for these patients, so that spermatogenesis and potential fertility can be preserved. In adulthood, semen analysis and mutation screening may also help in guiding these patients to select the correct fertilization method for their individual genetic and phenotypic characteristics.

The concept of Finite Absorption Time (FAT) for oral drug administration is set to affect pharmacokinetic analyses, Physiologically-based Pharmacokinetics simulations, and Pharmacometrics.

Gamma-ray flares of blazars may be accompanied by high-energy neutrinos due to interactions of high-energy cosmic rays in the jet with photons, as suggested by the detection of the high-energy neutrino IceCube-170922A during a major gamma-ray flare from blazar TXS 0506+056 at the ~3σ significance level. In this work, we present a statistical study of gamma-ray emission from blazars to constrain the contribution of gamma-ray flares to their neutrino output. We construct weekly binned light curves for 145 gamma-ray bright blazars in the Fermi Large Area Telescope Monitored Source List adding TXS 0506+056. We derive the fraction of time spent in the flaring state (flare duty cycle) and the fraction of energy released during each flare from the light curves with a Bayesian blocks algorithm. We find that blazars with lower flare duty cycles and energy fractions are more numerous among our sample. We identify a significant difference in flare duty cycles between blazar subclasses at a significance level of 5%. Then using a general scaling relation for the neutrino and gamma-ray luminosities, ${L}_{\nu }\propto {({L}_{\gamma })}^{\gamma }$ with a weighting exponent of γ = 1.0-2.0, normalized to the quiescent gamma-ray or X-ray flux of each blazar, we evaluate the neutrino energy flux of each gamma-ray flare. The gamma-ray flare distribution indicates that blazar neutrino emission may be dominated by flares for γ ≳ 1.5. The neutrino energy fluxes for 1 week and 10 yr bins are compared with the decl.-dependent IceCube sensitivity to constrain the standard neutrino emission models for gamma-ray flares. Finally, we present the upper-limit contribution of blazar gamma-ray flares to the isotropic diffuse neutrino flux.

Employee attrition, defined as the voluntary resignation of a subset of a company’s workforce, represents a direct threat to the financial health and overall prosperity of a firm. From lost reputation and sales to the undermining of the company’s long-term strategy and corporate secrets, the effects of employee attrition are multidimensional and, in the absence of thorough planning, may endanger the very existence of the firm. It is thus impeccable in today’s competitive environment that a company acquires tools that enable timely prediction of employee attrition and thus leave room either for retention campaigns or for the formulation of strategical maneuvers that will allow the firm to undergo their replacement process with its economic activity left unscathed. To this end, a weights and structure determination (WASD) neural network utilizing Fresnel cosine integrals in the determination of its activation functions, termed FCI-WASD, is developed through a process of three discrete stages. Those consist of populating the hidden layer with a sufficient number of neurons, fine-tuning the obtained structure through a neuron trimming process, and finally, storing the necessary portions of the network that will allow for its successful future recreation and application. Upon testing the FCI-WASD on two publicly available employee attrition datasets and comparing its performance to that of five popular and well-established classifiers, the vast majority of them coming from MATLAB’s classification learner app, the FCI-WASD demonstrated superior performance with the overall results suggesting that it is a competitive as well as reliable model that may be used with confidence in the task of employee attrition classification.

Compact objects and supernova remnants provide nearby laboratories to probe the fate of stars after they die, and the way they impact, and are impacted by, their surrounding medium. The past five decades have significantly advanced our understanding of these objects, and showed that they are most relevant to our understanding of some of the most mysterious energetic events in the distant Universe, including Fast Radio Bursts and Gravitational Wave sources. However, many questions remain to be answered. These include: What powers the diversity of explosive phenomena across the electromagnetic spectrum? What are the mass and spin distributions of neutron stars and stellar mass black holes? How do interacting compact binaries with white dwarfs - the electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave LISA sources - form and behave? Which objects inhabit the faint end of the X-ray luminosity function? How do relativistic winds impact their surroundings? What do neutron star kicks reveal about fundamental physics and supernova explosions? How do supernova remnant shocks impact cosmic magnetism? This plethora of questions will be addressed with AXIS - the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite - a NASA Probe Mission Concept designed to be the premier high-angular resolution X-ray mission for the next decade. AXIS, thanks to its combined (a) unprecedented imaging resolution over its full field of view, (b) unprecedented sensitivity to faint objects due to its large effective area and low background, and (c) rapid response capability, will provide a giant leap in discovering and identifying populations of compact objects (isolated and binaries), particularly in crowded regions such as globular clusters and the Galactic Center, while addressing science questions and priorities of the US Decadal Survey for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro2020).

The present work is an attempt at a bibliographic overview in the field of paleontology and specifically in the field of fossils regarding their value and connection with history and mythology, and how it has been used to teach theory of evolution through natural selection (TENS) in a university course. To make our case, we use as our paradigm two well-known historical locations of Greece, namely Thermopiles and Marathon. The area of Marathon includes the location of Pikermi, which is very well known for its fossils that historically have been one of the first locations rich in fossils that have been studied so extensively. Before we make a short tour of other similar locations of the Greek peninsula that are good cases for teaching evolution using paleontology, we present an example of how fossils can be formed via sedimentation. For that, we are using the case of Thermopile, while in antiquity was chosen as the field of the famous battle as it was a very narrow strip of land between the mountain and the sea, nowadays, due to sedimentary alluvial deposits, has become a rather large field. To make the reader familiar with the fossils found around Greece and their topology, we present a short tour and some history about the fossils found throughout its territory. And finally, we argue about how the fossils and the museum education could be used to prepare the pupils for first contact with TENS.

Citation: Diamanti, I., Dania, A., Venetsanou F., and Kamberidou, I. (2023). Generalist Early Education and Specialist Physical Education Teachers’ Views on the Scope of Early Childhood Physical Education. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, 14(2), 167-191. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1234072  © 2023 The Author(s) available online at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/psbd . 

Genital graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an underdiagnosed manifestation of chronic GVHD. Few articles have been published in pediatric populations, and there are no established guidelines for the management of this condition in children. This study aims to provide a systematic literature review of the published studies and cases of genital (vulvovaginal) GVHD in girls and adolescents post HSCT, with a focus on the time of diagnosis and clinical manifestations. The authors searched for English-language articles published after 1990, which included full patient details. Thirty-two cases of female patients under 20 years of age were identified. The median time of diagnosis was 381 days (IQR: 226-730 days), and 83{%} of patients developed Grade 3 vulvovaginal GVHD. Based on these observations, an early pediatric gynecologic examination of these patients, soon within the first year after HSCT, could be suggested for early diagnosis, treatment initiation and prevention of long-term complications.

A new assessment method named GEOAM (geoeducational assessment method), that will be a useful tool for highlighting the geoeducational and geoethical value of a geosite, is proposed. This method takes into account, initially, 11 criteria, which are grouped into 8 categories. Each criterion addresses a different aspect of the geosite’s potential for promoting sustainable development, environmental management, and education. A simplified scoring system using a scale of 1–5 is used, where each criterion is scored based on the degree to which it is presented or implemented. The method was piloted in eight geotopes of the Kalymnos Island and five geotopes of the Nisyros Island, in the SE Aegean Sea, Greece. The implementation of this assessment method highlighted the geoeducational value of these geosites. Based on the criteria and subcriteria incorporated in GEOAM, this paper discusses GEOAM’s potential to promote sustainable development and rational environmental management by directing educators and stakeholders toward actions that conserve and protect geoheritage for future generations, while also contributing to the economic, social, and cultural development of the surrounding communities. By quantifying the geoeducational potential of geosites and integrating essential concepts such as geoconservation and geoethics, the implementation of this new assessment method can benefit the educational community, tourism industry, and environmental conservation efforts.

The geosites of Lemnos represent local touristic products that, beyond their high aesthetic value, display significant scientific links to the geological past as well as prehistory and history, archaeology, mythology and religious heritage of the island. The unique wealth of Lemnos geosites in combination with the abundance of archaeological sites, cultural monuments and museums composes the basis of what we define here as “Geo-Archaeo-Routes”: certain routes that can be geographically defined, offered, guided and finally followed by the touristic masses. The outcome of the performed quantitative Lemnos geosite assessment enables decision making, thus providing a toolbox useful for sustainable Geo-Archaeo-tourism development at a local level and forms the basis for designing “Geo-Archaeo-Routes”. “Geo-Archaeo-Routes” are particularly favorable of environmentally friendly alternative types of tourism, attracting naturalists, hikers, fans of cultural or religious tourism and many others who represent a major part of the touristic needs of the 21st century. The established hiking and road “Geo-Archaeo-Routes” on Lemnos Island may represent a distinctive touristic product as they offer a high level of “nalture” entertainment, blending “nature with culture” in the framework of a holistic geotouristic approach.

Studies of the upper 447m of the DEEP site sediment succession from central Lake Ohrid, Balkan Peninsula, North Macedonia and Albania provided important insights into the regional climate history and evolutionary dynamics since permanent lacustrine conditions established at 1.36 million years ago (Ma). This paper focuses on the entire 584-m-long DEEP sediment succession and a comparison to a 197-m-long sediment succession from the Pestani site ~5 km to the east in the lake, where drilling ended close to the bedrock, to unravel the earliest history of Lake Ohrid and its basin development. 26Al/10Be dating of clasts from the base of the DEEP sediment succession implies that the sedimentation in the modern basin started at c. 2 Ma. Geophysical, sedimentological and micropalaeontological data allow for chronological information to be transposed from the DEEP to the Pestani succession. Fluvial conditions, slack water conditions, peat formation and/or complete desiccation prevailed at the DEEP and Pestani sites until 1.36 and 1.21 Ma, respectively, before a larger lake extended over both sites. Activation of karst aquifers to the east probably by tectonic activity and a potential existence of neighbouring Lake Prespa supported filling of Lake Ohrid. The lake deepened gradually, with a relatively constant vertical displacement rate of ~0.2 mm/a-1 between the central and the eastern lateral basin and with greater water depth presumably during interglacial periods. Although the dynamic environment characterized by local processes and the fragmentary chronology of the basal sediment successions from both sites hamper palaeoclimatic significance prior to the existence of a larger lake, the new data provide an unprecedented and detailed picture of the geodynamic evolution of the basin and lake that is Europe's presumed oldest extant freshwater lake.

The study area of Rodafnidia on the island of Lesbos (Greece) is considered of archaeological interest, as Paleolithic stone tools have been recovered through excavation and collected from the ground surface in recent years. Geologically, the area is mostly covered by Quaternary post-alpine deposits and volcanic rocks. This paper presents the application of a local geophysical survey to determine the volume of the upper Quaternary deposits in which the Paleolithic artefacts can be found and the identification of their ignimbrite substrates. For this reason, the geoelectrical method was selected as the most appropriate for determining the lithostratigraphic subsurface layers. More specifically, a grid of twenty-one (21) Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) along with an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) was carried out. The interpretation of the results of these surveys, in conjunction with the results of older excavation trenches, revealed that the Quaternary deposits have been investigated at depths ranging from 0.5 up to 28.5 meters. Furthermore, the lithological boundary of these post-alpine deposits and their underlying pyroclastic ignimbrite flow (with resistivity 24.0–58.0 Ohm.m) seem to dip to the north. The volume of the Quaternary layer is proposed as the maximum depth for archaeological investigation with high chances to recover more Paleolithic material.

The coastal environment of central Kyparissiakos Gulf, located at the west coast of Peloponnesus, Greece, comprises of a sandy beach associated with an extended dune field at its backshore area. This area is characterized as an essentially tideless coastal environment exposed to high wave activity. Regarding the identification, the thickness and characteristics of the uppermost substratum of the selected coastal site a detailed geophysical research was carried out. The geophysical survey aims to determine the thickness and the characteristics of the upper substratum of the selected coastal area, leading to the quantification of the sediment budget; the latter is considered essential to address potential coastal erosion. For this reason, the geophysical techniques of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) were implemented to profiles normal and parallel to the shoreline. The geophysical results reveal the presence of the interface between the dry and wet sand deposits, along with the structure and the downward extension of the sandy material.

The coastal environment of the west and south coast of Peloponnesus, Greece is characterized as an essentially tideless coastal environment exposed to high wave activity. Regarding the identification, the thickness and characteristics of the uppermost substratum of the selected coastal zones, at Hellonitis, Kyparissiakos and Messiniakos Gulfs, a detailed geophysical research was carried out. The geophysical survey aims to determine the thickness and the characteristics of the upper substratum of the selected coastal area, leading to the quantification of the sediment budget; the latter is considered essential to address potential coastal erosion. For this reason, the geophysical techniques of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) were implemented to profiles normal and parallel to the shoreline. The geophysical results reveal the presence of the interface between the dry and wet sand deposits, along with the structure and the downward extension of the coastal material.

Coastal erosion induced either by a natural process and/or human intervention has been the subject of extensive investigations due to their negative socio-economic impact. ILIDA-KIT is an innovative and multi-parametric decision-making tool for successful management of coastal erosion and the impacts of storms. Thus, within the framework of the ILIDA-KIT tool, beach zone sectors of the west and south coast of Peloponnesus (Greece) (i.e. Helonitis Gulf, Kyparissiakos Gulf and Messiniakos Gulf) have been investigated with geophysical means, aiming to the quantification of the sediment budget that is essential for the confrontation of the phenomenon. The geophysical research aims to identify the thickness and the characteristics of the uppermost lithostarigraphic substratum of the selected beach zone sectors, whose common characteristic is the presence of dunes at the backshore zone. Apart of the other geophysical techniques (e.g. electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), transient electromagnetic soundings (TEM), vertical electrical soundings (VES)) that have been applied, the present contribution provides the preliminary results concerning the application of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) technique. The GPR electromagnetic method was implemented to profiles normal to the shoreline contributing to (a) the quantification of the erodible part of the beach zone and (b) the determination of the base of the sand dunes.

Στο άρθρο διερευνάται η δυνατότητα μιας αφηγηματικής ερευνητικής προσέγγισης να αξιολογεί με επιστημονικό τρόπο τα αποτελέσματα της εκπαίδευσης υποψηφίων εκπαιδευτικών σε ένα πρόγραμμα Πρακτικής Άσκησης. Η έρευνα ήταν ποιοτική και πραγματοποιήθηκε την ακαδημαϊκή χρονιά 2021-2022 σε δύο φάσεις. Συμμετείχαν 73 φοιτητές/τριες από το Τμήμα Θεολογίας, του Εθνικού και Καποδιστριακού Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών, στο πλαίσιο εφαρμογής του ετήσιου προγράμματος Πρακτικής Άσκησης. Μελετήθηκαν τα αποτελέσματα που έχει η Πρακτική Άσκηση υποψηφίων εκπαιδευτικών σε σχολικό περιβάλλον, όταν αυτή πραγματοποιείται μέσω εξατομικευμένης καθοδήγησης και εποπτείας (mentoring), και εξετάστηκε η χρήση μιας αφηγηματικής ερευνητικής προσέγγισης, της τεχνικής της «πιο σημαντικής αλλαγής» (Most significant change), στην αξιολόγηση των αποτελεσμάτων της εκπαίδευσής τους. Τόσο η συλλογή όσο και η ανάλυση των δεδομένων πραγματοποιήθηκαν σε δύο χρονικές φάσεις στη διάρκεια του προγράμματος, με αξιοποίηση της θεωρητικής βάσης της συγκεκριμένης τεχνικής. Συγκεκριμένα, στο μέσο και στο τέλος της Πρακτικής Άσκησης ζητήθηκε από τους/τις φοιτητές/τριες να καταγράψουν την πιο σημαντική αλλαγή που είχαν βιώσει προσωπικά μέσα από την εμπειρία της Πρακτικής Άσκησης, ενώ στη συνέχεια διενεργήθηκε ανάλυση όλων των αφηγήσεων των αλλαγών με τη συμβολή ανεξάρτητων κριτών, ξεχωριστά για κάθε μία από τις δύο φάσεις της ερευνητικής διαδικασίας. Από την ανάλυση περιεχομένου των δεδομένων προκύπτει ότι τα αποτελέσματα από την Πρακτική Άσκηση των υποψηφίων εκπαιδευτικών σχετίζονται με το ακαδημαϊκό κομμάτι της διδασκαλίας και τη θεωρία της, ενώ ταυτόχρονα προκύπτουν αποτελέσματα που συνδέονται με τη διαμόρφωση εκπαιδευτικής επαγγελματικής ταυτότητας. Η έρευνα επιβεβαιώνει την επιστημονική αξιοπιστία της χρήσης αφηγηματικών ερευνητικών προσεγγίσεων (τεχνική της πιο σημαντικής αλλαγής) στην αξιολόγηση των αποτελεσμάτων μιας παρόμοιας εκπαιδευτικής παρέμβασης, ενώ αναδεικνύει σημαντικά κριτήρια για τον μελλοντικό σχεδιασμό προγραμμάτων Πρακτικής Άσκησης, με σκοπό την εκπαίδευση φοιτητών/τριών και υποψηφίων εκπαιδευτικών.        

This book discusses key issues in economic policy in the context of the history of economic thought. Most of the current and past academic controversies in economics are, explicitly or implicitly, centred around the application and form of economic policy. This is particularly evident in the post-WWII period, with the appearance of economic policy as a distinguishable subfield, but important elements of various economic policy issues can be found throughout the history of economic thought. This book discusses various topics in economic policy – such as questions over state spending and taxation, income redistribution, and the role of money – with each chapter focusing on a particular period or major school of economic thought ranging from the ‘prehistory’ of economics up to the present day. Specific chapters of the volume cover the main schools of economic thought from different national and theoretical traditions, incorporating mercantilism, the Physiocratic School, the German Historical School, Marxism, the Austrian School, institutional economics, Keynesian economics, behavioural economics and more.

This work presents and discusses chapter two of Marc Lavoie’s book Post-Keynesian Economics: New Foundations. It begins by analysing the concepts of uncertainty and rationality which are extremely important for the post Keynesian approach, and for economic theorizing in general. The notions of fundamental uncertainty and the closely related concept of procedural rationality, are employed in order to build the foundations of a theory of household choice. It proceeds by investigating the repercussions of the theory in a lexicographic/hierarchical analytical framework. In this framework, groups consume different goods depending on their respective needs, income effects are more important than substitution effects, and price competition has a secondary role. It is also shown that Lavoie’s approach does not only draw from the work of Keynes and other major post-Keynesian theorists, but also utilizes contributions from other strands of heterodox economics, thus providing an agenda for a possible theoretical synthesis.

Blazars are a rare class of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with relativistic jets pointing towards the observer. Jets are thought to be launched as Poynting-flux dominated outflows that accelerate to relativistic speeds at the expense of the available magnetic energy. In this work, we consider electron-proton jets and assume that particles are energized via magnetic reconnection in parts of the jet where the magnetization is still high (σ ≥ 1). The magnetization and bulk Lorentz factor Γ are related to the available jet energy per baryon as μ = Γ(1 + σ). We adopt an observationally motivated relation between Γ and the mass accretion rate into the black hole $\dot{m}$, which also controls the luminosity of external radiation fields. We numerically compute the photon and neutrino jet emission as a function of μ and σ. We find that the blazar SED is produced by synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation of accelerated electrons, while the emission of hadronic-related processes is subdominant except for the highest magnetization considered. We show that low-luminosity blazars (Lγ ≲ 1045 erg s-1) are associated with less powerful, slower jets with higher magnetizations in the jet dissipation region. Their broad-band photon spectra resemble those of BL Lac objects, and the expected neutrino luminosity is $L_{\nu +\bar{\nu }}\sim (0.3-1)\, L_{\gamma }$. High-luminosity blazars (Lγ ≫ 1045 erg s-1) are associated with more powerful, faster jets with lower magnetizations. Their broad-band photon spectra resemble those of flat spectrum radio quasars, and they are expected to be dim neutrino sources with $L_{\nu +\bar{\nu }}\ll L_{\gamma }$.

Relativistic hadronic plasmas can become, under certain conditions, supercritical, abruptly and efficiently releasing the energy stored in protons through photon outbursts. Past studies have tried to relate the features of such hadronic supercriticalities (HSCs) to the phenomenology of gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission. In this work we investigate, for the first time, HSC in adiabatically expanding sources. We examine the conditions required to trigger HSC, study the role of expansion velocity, and discuss our results in relation to GRB prompt emission. We find multipulse light curves from slowly expanding regions (≲ 0.01c) that are a manifestation of the natural HSC quasi-periodicity, while single-pulse light curves with a fast rise and slow decay are found for higher velocities. The formation of the photon spectrum is governed by an in-source electromagnetic cascade. The peak photon energy is approximately $1 \cdot \frac{\Gamma }{100} \frac{1+z}{3}$ MeV for maximum proton energies $(1-10) \cdot \frac{\Gamma }{100} \frac{1+z}{3}$ PeV, while the peak γ-ray luminosities are in the range $(10^{49}-10^{52}) \cdot (\frac{\Gamma }{100})^4$ erg s-1. HSC bursts peaking in the MeV energy band are also copious neutrino emitters with peak energies $\sim 10 \cdot \frac{\Gamma }{100} \frac{1+z}{3}$ TeV and an all-flavour neutrino fluence $\sim 10~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the γ-ray one. The hypothesis that long-duration GRBs are powered by HSCs could be applied therefore only to the most luminous GRBs observed assuming bulk Lorentz factors Γ ≤ 100.

Despite the unique position of gold catalysis in contemporary organic synthesis, this area of research is notorious for requiring activators and/or additives that enable catalysis by generating cationic forms of gold catalysts. Cycloisomerization reactions occupy a significant portion of the gold-catalyzed reaction space, while they represent a diverse family of reactions that are frequently utilized in synthesis. Herein, hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) is shown to be a uniquely simple tool for gold-catalyzed cycloisomerizations, rendering the use of external activators obsolete and leading to highly active catalytic systems with ppm levels of catalyst loading in certain cases. HFIP assumes a dual role as a solvent and an activator, operating via the dynamic activation of the Au-Cl bond through hydrogen bonding, which initiates the catalytic cycle. This special mode of catalysis can enable efficient and scalable cyclization reactions of propargylamides and ynoic acids with simple [AuCl(L)] complexes. A thorough screening of ancillary ligands and counter anions has been performed, establishing this methodology as an alternative to elaborate ligand/catalyst design and to the use of activators. Additionally, this concept is applied in C-C bond-forming cycloisomerization reactions leading to 2H-chromenes and to the design of catalytic systems for sequential or one-pot transformations leading to activated ketoesters, a functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursor salt, and a compound bearing the bioactive indole core, among others. Importantly, through mechanistic investigations, including a “snapshot” of the species of interest in the solid state, we were able to unambiguously detect the key H-bonding interaction between HFIP and the gold catalyst, shedding light on the intermolecular mode of activation that enables catalysis. In the cases examined herein, HFIP is not only an excellent solvent but also a potent activator and a valuable synthetic handle when incorporated into functional groups of products.

Accreting neutron stars (NSs) represent a unique laboratory for probing the physics of accretion in the presence of strong magnetic fields (B ≳ 108 G). Additionally, the matter inside the NS itself exists in an ultra-dense, cold state that cannot be reproduced in Earth-based laboratories. Hence, observational studies of these objects are a way to probe the most extreme physical regimes. Here we present an overview of the field and discuss the most important outstanding problems related to NS accretion. We show how these open questions regarding accreting NSs in both low-mass and high-mass X-ray binary systems can be addressed with the High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P) via simulated data. In particular, with the broad X-ray passband and improved sensitivity afforded by a low X-ray background, HEX-P will be able to 1) distinguish between competing continuum emission models; 2) provide tighter upper limits on NS radii via reflection modeling techniques that are independent and complementary to other existing methods; 3) constrain magnetic field geometry, plasma parameters, and accretion column emission patterns by characterizing fundamental and harmonic cyclotron lines and exploring their behavior with pulse phase; 4) directly measure the surface magnetic field strength of highly magnetized NSs at the lowest accretion luminosities; as well as 5) detect cyclotron line features in extragalactic sources and probe their dependence on luminosity in the super-Eddington regime in order to distinguish between geometrical evolution and accretion-induced decay of the magnetic field. In these ways HEX-P will provide an essential new tool for exploring the physics of NSs, their magnetic fields, and the physics of extreme accretion.

Introduction: Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) represent an extreme class of accreting compact objects: from the identification of some of the accretors as neutron stars to the detection of powerful winds travelling at 0.1–0.2 c, the increasing evidence points towards ULXs harbouring stellar-mass compact objects undergoing highly super-Eddington accretion. Measuring their intrinsic properties, such as the accretion rate onto the compact object, the outflow rate, the masses of accretor/companion-hence their progenitors, lifetimes, and future evolution-is challenging due to ULXs being mostly extragalactic and in crowded fields. Yet ULXs represent our best opportunity to understand super-Eddington accretion physics and the paths through binary evolution to eventual double compact object binaries and gravitational-wave sources. Methods: Through a combination of end-to-end and single-source simulations, we investigate the ability of HEX-P to study ULXs in the context of their host galaxies and compare it to XMM-Newton and NuSTAR, the current instruments with the most similar capabilities.Results: HEX-P's higher sensitivity, which is driven by its narrow point-spread function and low background, allows it to detect pulsations and broad spectral features from ULXs better than XMM-Newton and NuSTAR.Discussion: We describe the value of HEX-P in understanding ULXs and their associated key physics, through a combination of broadband sensitivity, timing resolution, and angular resolution, which make the mission ideal for pulsation detection and low-background, broadband spectral studies.

HEX-P is a probe-class mission concept that will combine high spatial resolution X-ray imaging (<10 arcsec FWHM) and broad spectral coverage (0.1-150 keV) with an effective area far superior to current facilities (including XMM-Newton and NuSTAR) to enable revolutionary new insights into a variety of important astrophysical problems. HEX-P will characterize X-ray binary systems over an unprecedented range of fluxes, energies, and time-scales, allowing us to answer questions about binary evolution, neutron star physical properties, and feedback into their environment. We present spectral simulations of accreting neutron stars to demonstrate the power of the HEX-P observatory. We show that HEX-P will (1) detect cyclotron line features above 80 keV, directly measuring B-fields stronger than ever before; (2) provide constraints on neutron star radii with higher accuracy using X-ray reflection modeling; (3) yield unique information about the accretion geometry and accretion state in these systems for the whole range of mass accretion rates from ULX-like luminosities to the onset of the propeller effect or quiescence; and (4) characterize the diverse environments these systems live in, including stellar winds and dust shrouds, intervening Be-star disks or warped accretion disks, as well as outflows. More information on HEX-P, including the full team list, is available at hexp.org.

Badlands are among the most intricate and complex types of erosion landscapes typically formed from soft sedimentary rock, such as shale, clay, and sandstone, which can be intensively eroded by precipitation processes. The erosion produces steep slopes, deep canyons, and peculiar geomorphological features that are highly related to this type of landforms. The SE part of Zakynthos Island, located at the Ionian Sea (western Greece), is characterized by such kind of landscape dominated by high inclined marly sandstone formations, of Pliocene age. Besides their high contribution to the geo-diversity of the Island, the Gerakas Badlands are characterized by ecological significance since they host a nesting site for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle, within the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. The study of badlands can offer insights into the processes and mechanisms of erosion since due to their unique rock properties, including their high clay content, low organic matter, and low infiltration capacity, they are exceptionally vulnerable to erosion. Therefore, their relatively rapid reshaping and the processes that affect these geomorphological features could be measured with innovative techniques and equipment. We describe a methodology based on the advancement of technological means and particularly the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) which provides detailed information on micro-topography, erosion patterns, and other key features by applying change detection over time.The period needed for monitoring badlands to identify erosion patterns can vary depending on various factors such as the scale of the study area, the climate conditions, and the specific objectives of the study. In this case, the data acquisition was accomplished in two phases three years apart, which were used to create a series of DSMs along with ortho-photo-mosaics, for quantifying the badlands surface topographic changes, before and after at least one severe weather phenomenon (e.g., Medicane Ianos, Sept 2020).

The identification of multiple simultaneous orientations of small molecule inhibitors binding to a protein target is a common challenge. It has recently been reported that the conformational heterogeneity of ligands is widely underreported in the Protein Data Bank, which is likely to impede optimal exploitation to improve affinity of these ligands. Significantly less is even known about multiple binding orientations for fragments (<300 Da), although this information would be essential for subsequent fragment optimisation using growing, linking or merging and rational structure-based design. Here, we use recently reported fragment hits for the SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 1 (nsp1) N-terminal domain to propose a general procedure for unambiguously identifying binding orientations of 2-dimensional fragments containing either sulphur or chloro substituents within the wavelength range of most tunable beamlines. By measuring datasets at two energies, using a tunable beamline operating in vacuum and optimised for data collection at very low X-ray energies, we show that the anomalous signal can be used to identify multiple orientations in small fragments containing sulphur and/or chloro substituents or to verify recently reported conformations. Although in this specific case we identified the positions of sulphur and chlorine in fragments bound to their protein target, we are confident that this work can be further expanded to additional atoms or ions which often occur in fragments. Finally, our improvements in the understanding of binding orientations will also serve to improve the rational optimisation of SARS-CoV-2 nsp1 fragment hits.

Noble metal nanostructured substrates enhance photoluminescence emitted from molecules immobilized onto their surface, allowing for the development of highly sensitive immunoassays employing fluorescent labels. In this work, nanostructured silver surfaces were implemented as substrates for the immunochemical detection of two ovarian cancer markers, carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4). Biotinylated detection antibodies were used to allow for the detection of immunocomplexes through a reaction with streptavidin conjugated to Rhodamine Red-X. The detection limits achieved were 2.5 U/mL and 0.06 ng/mL for CA125 and HE4, respectively, with linear dynamic ranges, covering the concentration ranges of both healthy and ovarian cancer patients.

HIV/HCV prevention among people who inject drugs (PWID) is of key public health importance. We aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 and associated response measures on HIV/HCV prevention services and socio-economic status of PWID in high-HIV-risk sites. Sites with recent (2011–2019) HIV outbreaks among PWID in Europe North America and Israel, that had been previously identified, were contacted early May 2020. Out of 17 sites invited to participate, 13 accepted. Semi-structured qualitative site reports were prepared covering data from March to May 2020, analyzed/coded and confirmed with a structured questionnaire, in which all sites explicitly responded to all 103 issues reported in the qualitative reports. Opioid maintenance treatment, needle/syringe programs and antiretroviral treatment /hepatitis C treatment continued, but with important reductions and operational changes. Increases in overdoses, widespread difficulties with food and hygiene needs, disruptions in drug supply, and increased homelessness were reported. Service programs rapidly reformed long established, and politically entrenched, restrictive service delivery policies. Future epidemic control measures should include mitigation of negative side-effects on service provision and socio-economic determinants in PWID.

Despite being relatively rare, Mediterranean tropical-like cyclones, also known as Medicanes, induce significant impacts on coastal Mediterranean areas. Under climate change, it is possible that these effects will increase in frequency and severity. Currently, there is only a broad understanding of the types and mechanisms of these impacts. This work studied Medicane Ianos (September 2020) and its effects on the Ionian Islands, in Greece, by developing a database of distinct impact elements based on field surveys and public records. Through this archive, the study explored the range of Ianos’ impacts to develop a systematic categorization. Results showed different types of effects induced on the natural and the built environment that can be grouped into 3 categories and 39 sub-categories in inland and coastal areas, indicating an extensive diversity of impacts, ranging from flooding and geomorphic effects to damages in various facilities, vehicles and infrastructure. The systematic description of the typology of Medicanes’ effects presented in this study is a contribution to a better understanding of their consequences as means to improve our ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from them, a necessary stepping stone in improving the overall preparedness of both the general public and relevant authorities.

The influence of neutrosophy on many fields of science and technology, as well as its numerous applications, are evident. Our motivation is to apply neutrosophy for the first time in order to improve methods for solving unconstrained optimization. Particularly, in this research, we propose and investigate an improvement of line search methods for solving unconstrained nonlinear optimization models. The improvement is based on the application of symmetry involved in neutrosophic logic in determining appropriate step size for the class of descent direction methods. Theoretical analysis is performed to show the convergence of proposed iterations under the same conditions as for the related standard iterations. Mutual comparison and analysis of generated numerical results reveal better behavior of the suggested iterations compared with analogous available iterations considering the Dolan and Moré performance profiles and statistical ranking. Statistical comparison also reveals advantages of the neutrosophic improvements of the considered line search optimization methods.

The main purpose of this section is to explore the design of and design with digital resources (DRs) for mathematics teaching and learning. Design of DRs involves teachers’ engagement in the process where DRs are the product of design. Design with DRs refers to cases where DRs facilitate the design-work offering an environment for teacher collaboration (e.g., communication platform) or an environment for designing tasks and lessons. The chapters of this section address both forms of design.

This paper presents the methodology of an applied geophysical and remote sensing research at river deltas for their subsurface and surface structure and its application in the deltaic plain of Pineios River (Thessaly, Greece). The scope is to primarily calculate the thickness of deltaic post alpine deposits, with the contribution of Transient Electromagnetic Method (TEM), but also identify the surficial characteristics (biotic/ abiotic) of the area with the appropriate combination of spectral bands and spectral indices. Regarding the remote sensing approach, some geomorphological features were outlined. This was managed from six false color composites of the area, produced by combining spectral bands and additional five false color composites by combining several spectral indices. • The results of the TEM method along with their statistical analysis provided important information regarding the spatial distribution and thickness of the lithological units along the deltaic plain • The combination of spectral bands 8, 7, 6 seems to adumbrate the hydrographic network of the area and even detects possible changes in the inflow. • The combination of spectral indices MSAVI2, WV-BI, WV-WI was helpful enough to geomorphological mapping of the deltaic plain.

This paper presents the methodology of an applied geophysical and remote sensing research at river deltas for their subsurface and surface structure and its application in the deltaic plain of Pineios River (Thessaly, Greece). The scope is to primarily calculate the thickness of deltaic post alpine deposits, with the contribution of Transient Electromagnetic Method (TEM), but also identify the surficial characteristics (biotic/ abiotic) of the area with the appropriate combination of spectral bands and spectral indices. Regarding the remote sensing approach, some geomorphological features were outlined. This was managed from six false color composites of the area, produced by combining spectral bands and additional five false color composites by combining several spectral indices. •The results of the TEM method along with their statistical analysis provided important information regarding the spatial distribution and thickness of the lithological units along the deltaic plain.•The combination of spectral bands 8, 7, 6 seems to adumbrate the hydrographic network of the area and even detects possible changes in the inflow.•The combination of spectral indices MSAVI2, WV-BI, WV-WI was helpful enough to geomorphological mapping of the deltaic plain.

Im ersten Viertel des 21. Jahrhunderts ist in der griechischen Literatur und Kunst im Allgemeinen eine starke Hinwendung zum Werk Franz Kafkas festzustellen, die sich auch im griechischen Kino bemerkbar macht. Auf der Grundlage der Theorien von Marcuse, Adorno, Foucault und Deleuze & Guattari setzt sich die vorliegende Studie zum Ziel zu beweisen, dass der Hauptgrund, weshalb Kafka für die zeitgenössische griechische Kunst absolut relevant ist, die Tatsache ist, dass er in erster Linie ein politischer Schriftsteller war, der versuchte, den komplexen Charakter der modernen condition humaine, das Leben unter den absurden Mechanismen einer repressiven Macht, aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln zu beleuchten. Nach einem Überblick über griechische Filme, die von Mitte der 1950er Jahre bis heute von Kafkas Werk beeinflusst zu sein scheinen, wird der Versuch unternommen, den preisgekrönten Film The Lobster (2015) von Giorgos Lanthimos als besonders repräsentativ zu analysieren. Die vergleichende Untersuchung dieses Films mit Kafkas Texten wie Der Prozess, Das Urteil und Die Verwandlung zielt darauf ab, auf „intertextuelle“ Bezüge hinzuweisen sowie Kontinuitäten und Diskontinuitäten, sowohl ästhetisch als auch thematisch, innerhalb eines offenen dynamischen Dialogs aufzuzeigen.

El presente estudio pretende demostrar que la prueba de disponibilidad léxica puede servir como una herramienta útil para indicar la competencia ortográfica y las posibles dificultades que afrontan los aprendices de español como lengua extranjera en su esfuerzo por aprender el aspecto formal de las palabras españolas. En este estudio en concreto sometemos a un grupo de estudiantes griegos de español como lengua extranjera de nivel A2 a la realización de una prueba de disponibilidad léxica. Tras la localización y la clasificación de los errores ortográficos de las respuestas en el centro de interés “Comida y bebida”, los analizamos tanto de manera cuantitativa como cualitativa. Los resultados indican que una prueba de disponibilidad léxica puede ser un indicador de la competencia ortográfica de los alumnos en la lengua extranjera, dado que nos permite conocer la tipología de los errores cometidos y las áreas más problemáticas para los participantes. En este sentido, las pruebas de disponibilidad léxica pueden servir como ayuda para profesores de español, aportándoles la información necesaria para planificar su clase y adaptarla a las necesidades de sus alumnos.

The dynamics of fluid flows give rise to robust, persistent circulation features that underpin the flow and exert strong control over the advection of water masses, either enhancing it or suppressing it, collectively known as lagrangian coherent structures. Lagrangian approaches and metrics have been shown to be better suited than eulerian ones at locating and delineating such structures and capturing the effect they have on the formation and dispersion of water masses, particularly at the smaller scales. In this paper, we use the framework of lagrangian coherent structures to analyse the ocean velocity fields over a climatological year obtained from a high-resolution eddy-resolving model in order to investigate the lagrangian regimes that affect the motion, separation and mixing of water masses in the Mediterranean Sea. The lagrangian regimes that develop in each sub-basin over the course of the year are characterised and regions of persistent lagrangian activity and coherent structure formation and presence are identified. A quantitative picture of the seasonal variability of the lagrangian coherent structure-induced horizontal mixing and vortex formation is obtained.

This paper proposes the utilization of large language models as recommendation systems for museum visitors. Since the aforementioned models lack the notion of context, they cannot work with temporal information that is often present in recommendations for cultural environments (e.g., special exhibitions or events). In this respect, the current work aims to enhance the capabilities of large language models through a fine-tuning process that incorporates contextual information and user instructions. The resulting models are expected to be capable of providing personalized recommendations that are aligned with user preferences and desires. More specifically, Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4, a knowledge-based large language model is fine-tuned and turned into a context-aware recommendation system, adapting its suggestions based on user input and specific contextual factors such as location, time of visit, and other relevant parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated through certain user studies, which ensure an improved user experience and engagement within the museum environment.

We present here the first long Quaternary record of organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst assemblages analysed from sediment cores retrieved during the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 381 in the Gulf of Corinth. Site M0078A is located in the central part of the Gulf of Corinth (GoC), a semi-isolated marine basin that was repeatedly isolated and reconnected to the Mediterranean Sea during the Quaternary glacial/interglacial cycles. Our results show that dinoflagellate cysts are sorted in two major ecogroups, each group alternating between marine and isolated/brackish conditions. The marine intervals are characterised by high dinocyst diversity whereas the isolated intervals are dominated by taxa thriving in low-salinity conditions such as Spiniferites cruciformis and Pyxidinopsis psilata. In several of these assemblages, S. cruciformis is so prevalent that it forms almost monospecific assemblages. The low salinity dinocyst assemblages are reported for the first time outside the Ponto-Caspian region and they show a close affinity to modern assemblages from the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Marmara Sea. The alternations between marine and brackish conditions recorded in the Gulf of Corinth reflect changes in surface water salinity (SSS) and temperature (SST), in response to the Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles. These seem to be in good agreement with regional and global marine isotope and sea-level records. Our findings suggest that the study region sensitively responds to climate forcing at orbital time scales and that local factors most likely drive shifts in dinoflagellate species composition and diversity.

À travers l’étude du système à effet intégrateur de rituels et de cérémonialscélébrant la présidente de l’UFF et de la FDIF Eugénie Cotton, promue en autorité universelle dont les vertus renvoient au modèle marial, le présent travail explore la mise en place dans le monde communiste de la guerre froide du versant féminin du culte du leader. Afin d’en saisir les spécificités par rapport à un phénomène historique dont la riche production historiographique des vingt dernières années consacre naturellement et exclusivement la masculinité, y sont examinés plus particulièrement les circonstances qui lui donnèrent naissance, les temps forts qui scandent son cheminement, les mécanismes de sa diffusion et les glissements genrés opérés dans le processus de son invention." The communist cult of the female leader: Eugénie Cotton (1881-1967), “world mother” "This article considers the rituals and ceremonies celebrating the French pro-communist activist, Eugénie Cotton, president of the Union of French Women (UFW) and of the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), and the way Cotton was elevated to the rank of universal authority, exemplifying virtues not unrelated to the model of the Virgin Mary. This exploration of the enactment of the female version of the cult of the leader in the communist world during the Cold War contrasts with the masculine focus of the substantial historiographical production of the last twenty years on this topic. The paper examines in particular the circumstances that gave birth to the “Cotton cult”, the key moments in its evolution, the mechanisms of its diffusion and the gender shifts in the process of its invention. Mots-clés : Eugénie Cotton, culte du leader, UFF, FDIF, pacifisme,guerre froideKeywords: Eugénie Cotton, cult of the leader, UFW, WIDF, pacifism,Cold War

A proper generalization of the extended boundary condition method to calculate the transition matrix, T, for electromagnetic scattering from a homogeneous and isotropic body of arbitrary shape, characterized by a periodically time-varying electric permittivity, is presented. The application of the method on a specific example of a spheroidal dielectric particle confirms that time modulation induces strong inelastic scattering, accompanied by energy transfer between the scatterer and the light field, when the difference of the incident wave frequency to a particle optical resonance matches an integer multiple of the modulation frequency. Moreover, it is shown that, for nonspherical scatterers, these effects can be selectively tuned by external means such as the polarization and the propagation direction of the incident light beam. The method is readily implementable in available dynamic multiple-scattering computer codes, and, because of its versatility and computational efficiency, it can offer new opportunities for studying more complex time-varying photonic structures.

The stability of astrophysical jets in the linear regime is investigated by presenting a methodology to find the growth rates of the various instabilities. We perturb a cylindrical axisymmetric steady jet, linearize the relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations, and analyze the evolution of the eigenmodes of the perturbation by deriving the differential equations that need to be integrated, subject to the appropriate boundary conditions, in order to find the dispersion relation. We also apply the WKBJ approximation and, additionally, give analytical solutions in some subcases corresponding to unperturbed jets with constant bulk velocity along the symmetry axis.

Aims: We study the stability properties of relativistic magnetized astrophysical jets in the linear regime. We consider cylindrical cold jet configurations with constant Lorentz factor and constant density profiles across the jet. We are interested in probing the properties of the instabilities and identifying the physical quantities that affect the stability profile of the outflows. Methods: We conducted a linear stability analysis on the unperturbed outflow configurations we are interested in. We focus on the unstable branches, which can disrupt the initial outflow. We proceeded with a parametric study regarding the Lorentz factor, the ratio of the rest mass density of the jet to that of the environment, the magnetization, and the ratio of the poloidal component of the magnetic field to its toroidal counterpart measured on the boundary of the jet. We also consider two choices for the pressure of the environment, either thermal or magnetic, and check if this choice affects the results. Additionally, we applied a WKBJ method at the radius of the jet in order to study the local stability properties. Finally, we adapted the jet configuration in Cartesian geometry and compared the planar flow results with the results of the cylindrical counterpart. Results: While investigating the stability properties of the configurations, we observed the existence of a specific solution branch, which showcases the growth timescale of the instability comparable to the light crossing time of the jet radius. Our analysis focuses on this solution. All of the quantities considered for the parametric study affect the behavior of the mode while the magnetized environments seem to hinder its development compared to the hydrodynamic equivalent. Also, our analysis of the eigenfunctions of the system alongside the WKBJ results show that the mode develops in a very narrow layer near the boundary of the jet, establishing the notion of locality for the specific solution. The results indicate that the mode is a relativistic generalization of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. We compare this mode with the corresponding solution in Cartesian geometry and define the prerequisites for the Cartesian Kelvin-Helmholtz to successfully approximate the cylindrical counterpart. Conclusions: We identify the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability for a cold nonrotating relativistic jet carrying a helical magnetic field. Our parametric study reveals the important physical quantities that affect the stability profile of the outflow and their respective value ranges for which the instability is active. The Kelvin-Helmholtz mode and its stability properties are characterized by the locality of the solutions, the value of the angle between the magnetic field and the wavevector, the linear dependence between the mode's growth rate and the wavevector, and finally the stabilization of the mode for flows that are ultrafast magnetosonic. The cylindrical mode can be approximated successfully by the Cartesian Kelvin-Helmholtz instability whenever certain length scales are much larger than the jet radius.

Although the psychoanalytic theories of Heinz Kohut and Otto F. Kernberg have not explicitly focused on loneliness, they have the potential to offer a rich conceptualization of this experience in severe personality pathology. In this study, we attempt to illustrate and discuss the various qualities of loneliness in narcissistic, borderline, and other personality pathology, as implied in these theories. Kohut’s views on selfobjects are presented and the links between selfobjects and loneliness are highlighted. In this theory, loneliness may be regarded as grandiose isolation and object hunger may be viewed as a type of quasi, but not real loneliness. In Kernberg’s theory, emptiness seems to be the essence of loneliness, but it takes on different qualities in several personality disorders. Mature love is proposed as the opposite of loneliness. After identifying some points of convergence between Kohut and Kernberg regarding loneliness, we conclude with the view that real loneliness can be experienced only when genuine intimacy and mature dependence have been established.

We present a detailed compilation and analysis of the X-ray phase space of low- to intermediate-redshift (0 ≤ z ≤ 1) transients that consolidates observed light curves (and theory where necessary) for a large variety of classes of transient/variable phenomena in the 0.3-10 keV energy band. We include gamma-ray burst afterglows, supernovae, supernova shock breakouts and shocks interacting with the environment, tidal disruption events and active galactic nuclei, fast blue optical transients, cataclysmic variables, magnetar flares/outbursts and fast radio bursts, cool stellar flares, X-ray binary outbursts, and ultraluminous X-ray sources. Our overarching goal is to offer a comprehensive resource for the examination of these ephemeral events, extending the X-ray duration-luminosity phase space (DLPS) to show luminosity evolution. We use existing observations (both targeted and serendipitous) to characterize the behavior of various transient/variable populations. Contextualizing transient signals in the larger DLPS serves two primary purposes: to identify areas of interest (i.e., regions in the parameter space where one would expect detections, but in which observations have historically been lacking), and to provide initial qualitative guidance in classifying newly discovered transient signals. We find that while the most luminous (largely extragalactic) and least luminous (largely Galactic) part of the phase space is well populated at t > 0.1 days, intermediate-luminosity phenomena (L X = 1034-1042 erg s-1) represent a gap in the phase space. We thus identify L X = 1034-1042 erg s-1 and t = 10-4 to 0.1 days as a key discovery phase space in transient X-ray astronomy.