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Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common chronic inflammatory disorder affecting 0,5-1% of the population, characterised by intense cellular activation and inflammation in the affected joints ultimately leading to bone and cartilage destruction. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among patients suffering from RA, with chronic inflammation and genetic background emerging as major predisposing factors. Although the pathogenetic events leading to an increased rate of atherosclerosis in the affected group are not precisely described, several genetic variations have been suggested as possible mediators of this process. The aim of the current research proposal is to investigate the role of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) variants in the pathogenesis of RA-related atherosclerosis. Stored DNA samples from the Biobank in the Department of Physiology of the Medical School of the University of Athens from RA individuals and healthy controls will be analysed for polymorphisms of B-cell activating factor (BAFF) by polymeric chain reaction (PCR) based assays. Detection of plaque formation and calculation of the mean intima media thickness (mIMT) of the vessel wall will be performed in RA patients by using carotid and femoral artery ultrasonography. Complete personal and family history, biochemical and serological markers will be obtained from the RA group and associated with the genetic and IMT data. The results will be compared across the different subgroups in order to determine whether any particular genetic variants can act as prognostic markers for RA-related cardiovascular disease giving eventually new insights to atherosclerotic processes in the context of chronic inflammatory diseases. Such a result would invariably lead to a possible new treatment approach and/or prevention method to benefit this group of patients. © 2021

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of the IL-1b inhibitor canakinumab in all adults with refractory Still's disease identified from the National Organization For Medicines for off-label drug use. Methods:: In a retrospective longitudinal multicenter cohort of 50 patients (median age 39 years) with active Still's disease despite treatment with corticosteroids (n = 11), conventional and synthetic (n = 34) and/or biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (n = 30), we assessed the efficacy of canakinumab 150–300 mg administered every 4 (n = 47) or 8 weeks (n = 3) as combination therapy or monotherapy (n = 7) during a median follow-up of 27 (3–84) months. Results: Α complete response was initially observed in 78% of patients within 3 months (median), irrespective of age at disease onset. A partial response was evident in 20%. One patient had resistant disease. Treatment de-escalation was attempted in 15 of 39 complete responders and a complete drug discontinuation in 21 patients for 8 months (median). Eleven patients (22%) relapsed during treatment, one during de-escalation process, and 11 after treatment discontinuation. Overall, 9 of 11 relapses were successfully treated with canakinumab treatment intensification or re-introduction. At last visit, 18% of patients were off treatment due to remission and 26% due to disease activity. Canakinumab had a significant corticosteroid sparing effect allowing weaning in 21 of 41 cases. Infections (20%, severe 4%) and leucopenia (6%) led to treatment cessation in one patient. Conclusion: High rates of sustained remission were observed in this, largest so far, real-life cohort of adult patients with refractory Still's disease treated with canakinumab. © 2020

Aim: Essential Skills in the Management of Surgical Cases (ESMSC Marathon Course™) Integrated Generation 4 (iG4) is the first reported multifaceted undergraduate surgical course aiming to provide holistic surgical teaching. In this prospective observational study, we explored students’views on the iG4 curriculum, and identified how it can potentially address modern challenges in surgical training. Material and Methods: Medical students were invited to apply to the course online and were screened against pre-defined criteria. A multi-national structured questionnaire incorporating five domains related to the course curriculum and our dedicated research network, was designed and distributed to participants after successful completion of the course. Results: Forty-one students from European and Asian medical schools completed the course and filled in the survey. The median overall evaluation score of the course was 4.73 out of 5 (interquartile range=4.21-4.72) and all students found that iG4 served the vision of holistic surgical education. ESMSC had a positive motivational effect towards following a career in surgery (p=0.012) and 92.7% of students declared that it should be an essential part of a future medical school curriculum. There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in results between participants of different countries of study, year of studies or age group. Conclusion: The ESMSC Marathon Course™ is perceived as a unique course model, with an established educational value and a positive motivational effect towards surgery. It might potentially be implemented in future medical school curricula as an essential element of undergraduate surgical education. The iG4 curriculum has opened a new exciting horizon of opportunities for advancing undergraduate holistic surgical education. © 2020 International Institute of Anticancer Research. All rights reserved.

Tetraphenylhexaazaanthracene, TPHA-1, is a fluorescent zwitterionic biscyanine with a closed-shell singlet ground state. TPHA-1 overcomes its weak 16π antiaromaticity by partitioning its π system into 6π positive and 10π negative cyanines. The synthesis of TPHA-1 is low yielding and accompanied by two analogous TPHA isomers: the deep red, non-charge-separated, quinoidal TPHA-2, and the deep green TPHA-3 that partitions into two equal but oppositely charged 8π cyanines. The three TPHA isomers are compared. © 2015 American Chemical Society. 17 16 4026 4029 Cited By :5

Three 3,5-dichloro-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazines, which differ according to the electron withdrawing nature of their substituent at C-4: (a) 3,5-dichloro-4-methylene-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazine (5a), (b) 3,5-dichloro-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-one (5b) and (c) 2-(3,5-dichloro-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazin-4-ylidene)malononitrile (5c), are characterized using resonance Raman (RR), absorption (UV/vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. These weakly aromatic and electron-deficient heterocycles are potential components as acceptors in donor-acceptor systems for organic electronics. Experimental results, which include the synthesis, characterization and single crystal X-ray structure of 3,5-dichloro-4-methylene-4H-1,2,6-thiadiazine (5a), combined with theoretical calculations of their orbitals and vibrational frequencies, provide an understanding of the optical properties, on the basis of molecular geometry and electron distribution. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015. 5 24 18471 18481 Cited By :3

Against the background of a curriculum change in the Republic of Cyprus, this study focuses on teachers who volunteered to work along with academics and ministry officials in subject-area curriculum review committees to develop official curriculum texts. Teachers’ participation in these committees was construed in official rhetoric as a means to acknowledge teacher/classroom expertise, and, by extension, to democratize the curriculum change process. Analysis of teacher interviews indicates, however, that this process was replete with negotiations among people with differentially valued knowledge and expertise: academic expertise, classroom experience and expertise, and a combination of those that produced a hybrid expert-subject. To unpack these negotiations and thus discuss the politics of teacher participation in collaborative partnerships, we utilize the Foucauldian notions of subjectivation, subjection, and resistance, and suggest that (1) teachers were constituted as subjects and were subjected to institutional(ized) power relations that produced and were produced by particular constructions of knowledge/expertise, and (2) teacher participation was further complicated by possibilities for resistance and openings for the destabilization of those institutionalized hierarchical relations. The latter points towards the ongoing politics of teacher participation in curriculum change and of professionalism as a “permanent provocation”. 47 2 217 240

The accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union in 2004 was anticipated to be a ‘catalytic’ factor in developments towards a solution of the Cyprus problem at the political level. Within education, it was also seen as an opportunity for addressing diversity in a historically ethnocentric educational system through the introduction of a European dimension. Against this background, this article explores Greek-Cypriot children’s discourses about national others by drawing upon two sets of data collected in two studies of roughly seven years apart. Despite the different theoretical and methodological approaches of the two studies, and despite the temporal distance between them (almost three and a half years before and after Cyprus’s EU accession respectively), the concept of ‘Europe’ was mobilised by children in highly similar ways to distinguish, evaluate and hierarchise various others and to re-produce ethnic, racial, and Eurocentric stereotypes against national outgroups and their immigrant classmates from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds 17 2 264 290 Cited By :2

We report on object and action picture-naming accuracy in two groups of bilectal speakers in Cyprus, children with typical language development (TLD) and children with specific language impairment (SLI). Object names were overall better retrieved than action names by both groups. Given that comprehension for action names was relatively intact for all children, this finding is taken to be the result of a breakdown at the interface of the semantic lexicon and phonological representations, or access to them. The results complement similar research on English, a minimally inflected language in contrast to Greek. Overall, cross-linguistic word class effects provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that grammatical category is an organizing principle shared across languages. Finally, our results suggest that bilectal children with SLI present with general lexical delay rather than a deficit in verb naming per se. © Cambridge University Press 2013. 17 1 169 188 Cited By :8; Export Date: 19 July 2017

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This study develops a single elicitation method to test the acquisition of third-person pronominal objects in 5-year-olds for 16 languages. This methodology allows us to compare the acquisition of pronominals in languages that lack object clitics (“pronoun languages”) with languages that employ clitics in the relevant context (“clitic languages”), thus establishing a robust cross-linguistic baseline in the domain of clitic and pronoun production for 5-year-olds. High rates of pronominal production are found in our results, indicating that children have the relevant pragmatic knowledge required to select a pronominal in the discourse setting involved in the experiment as well as the relevant morphosyntactic knowledge involved in the production of pronominals. It is legitimate to conclude from our data that a child who at age 5 is not able to produce any or few pronominals is a child at risk for language impairment. In this way, pronominal production can be taken as a developmental marker, provided that one takes into account certain cross-linguistic differences discussed in the article. © 2016 Taylor & Francis.

Charkadio Cave, on Tilos Island, is one of the richest Mediterranean fossiliferous sites, preserving remains of the dwarf elephant Palaeoloxodon tiliensis. This species is considered to be the last European elephant. Recent advances in the fields of engineering and imaging technology and their applications in palaeontology have allowed the digitization, modelling and 3D printing of skeletal remains of P. tiliensis for the first time. Taphonomical data were combined with appropriate mathematical methods and allometric analyses in order to determine missing bone measurements and estimate correct relative proportions of skeletal elements. Computed Tomography and non-contact digitization via Laser Scanning were used in order to capture the specimens' surface morphology and create 3D models that are adjusted to the correct dimensions derived from the mathematical analyses. The 3D models were then 3D printed with the use of Rapid Prototyping technologies. A research potential of fossil 3D modeling could be its application in morphological comparisons between different taxa. In this study, atlas 3D models of P. tiliensis and Palaeoloxodon antiquus (Falconer and Cautley, 1847) have been combined in a single 3D model that quantifies morphological differences by a color scale, thus minimizing observation error. 3D models and 3D printed replicas facilitate and enhance inter-institutional scientific interaction, minimizing costs and risks related to the transfer of irreplaceable fossil specimens. Finally, a positive outcome related to the above research could be its application in educational activities hosted in institutes such as schools, universities and museums. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.

This study examines the relationship between board structure with firm performance in the UK by employing data from 250 publicly traded firms. Consistent with general findings from the USA, the tests as a whole do not discern a significant link between board structure (director affiliation and ownership, chairman affiliation, and committee composition) with firm performance. These results are robust to alternative measures of performance, outlier definitions, various model specifications, and statistical estimation techniques. The most significant determinants of corporate performance are the level of R&D spending and current operating performance. These results are consistent with governance needs varying across firms, and contrast the notion that uniform board structures should be mandated.

For the past few years, the Republic of Cyprus has been pursuing a major educational reform across all levels of mandatory education, focusing especially on curriculum change, for the implementation of which in-service teachers have undergone a series of professional development seminars. Individual and focus group interviews with in-service elementary teachers, regarding their sense of professionalism within this curriculum change process, revealed that teachers positioned themselves largely onto different points on a continuum. These are conceptualized as positions veering between teachers’ sense of minimum and maximum autonomy over their participation in the development and introduction of the new official curriculum. Framed by a traditionally centralized context, these positions were discursively negotiated in contradictory ways which allowed multiple positionings by each teacher. The paper concludes with the implications of these findings for understanding teacher professionalism and positioning, as well as for considering how this might relate to curriculum change and implementation processes. 46 5 611 633 Cited By :1

Against the background of the increasing number of multilingual children with atypical language development around the world, this study reports research results on grammatical word class processing involving children with specific language impairment (SLI). The study investigates lexical retrieval of verbs (through picture-naming actions) and compares performances for the same children with noun retrieval (through picture-naming objects). It was found that nouns (object names) were better retrieved than verbs (action names) in the multilingual group with SLI, a finding similar to bilectal peers with SLI and typically developing language-matched controls. The results suggest that grammatical class is an organising principle shared across languages. Moreover, when tested in first and third language, multilingual children with SLI revealed a comparable verb-noun dissociation both in terms of the direction of the effect (V < N) and major error type. These findings are discussed in relation to the delayed acquisition hypothesis for SLI and psycholinguistic models of multilingualism. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC. 10 1 60 81 Cited By :9; Export Date: 19 July 2017

An update of the inventory of alien marine species from the coastal and offshore waters of Greece is presented. Records were compiled based on the existing scientific and grey literature, including the HCMR database of Greek alien species (ELNAIS), technical reports, scientific congresses, academic dissertations, websites, and unpublished/personal observations. 47 species were added to the inventory, including 34 invertebrates, one vertebrate (fish), three plants, eight protozoa, and one cyanobacterium. With the new records, the inventory of alien marine species of Greece now includes a total of 237 species (33 macrophytes, 131 invertebrates, 42 vertebrates, two bacteria and 29 protozoans). Among these, the presence of the gastropod Hypselodoris infucata, the bivalves Dendrostrea frons and Septifer forskali and the chondrichthyan Rhizoprionodon acutus is reported here for the first time. Based on molecular analysis, the occurrence of Bulla arabica in Greek waters is confirmed, and the suggestion that previous records of Bulla ampulla in the Mediterranean should be considered as misidentification of B. arabica is further supported. The acclimitization status of earlier records was revised in the light of new data, and thus the fish Enchelycore anatina, Seriola fasciata and Tylerius spinosissimus, the red algae Hypnea cornuta and Sarconema scinaioides, the scyphomedusa Cassiopea andromeda, the cephalopod Sepioteuthis lessoniana, the nudibranch Chromodoris annulata and the bivalves Gastrochaena cymbium and Pseudochama corbieri were upgraded from casual records to established populations. The increased rate of introductions of warm water species confirms previous findings, which link the rate of introduction in the eastern Mediterranean to climate change.

Different temporal forms can be used to describe one temporal relation (IT: camminava vs. camminò, walk-past- imperfective vs. walk-past-perfective) ; one form can be used to describe different temporal relations (D: life, walk-past- imperfective vs. walk-past-perfective) ; these relations concern objects not directly perceivable. This can make their acquisition a complicated task. We tested 355 children, 5 years-old, on tense comprehension in 17 languages. Participants watched movies where a protagonist walks along a road performing the same action at different locations (Wagner 2001). The test-questions were of the form: Where V-past? ; Where V-present? ; Where V-future? We found differences across languages (χ2(16)=100.14, p

Original paper can be found at: http://www.ask-eu.com/default.asp?Menue=149&AnbieterID=586 [Full text of this paper is not available in the UHRA], In the EU-project FOOTPRINT three pesticide risk assessment and management tools were developed, for use at different spatial scales. The three FOOTPRINT tools share the same underlying science, based on the consistent identification of environmental characteristics driving the fate of agriculturally applied pesticides and their interpretation to parameterise state of the art modelling applications thus providing an integrated solution to pesticide risk assessment and management in the EU.

The polyplacophoran faunas from the Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits of Rhodes Island (Aegean Sea, Greece) are described for the first time. Thirteen species are reported from five sections in three localities (Kritika, Faliraki and Ladiko) and their biostratigraphical position, faunal relationships and habitat specificity are investigated. The studied fauna developed in fully marine conditions and well-oxygenated waters from the shore to the detritic bottoms of the shelf edge. All these species are still living in the Mediterranean Sea and most of them also occur in the Atlantic Ocean. The following species have been identified: Lepidopleurus cajetanus, Leptochiton cimicoides, Ischnochiton rissoi, Callochiton septemvalvis, Rhyssoplax corallina, R. olivacea, Lepidochitona cf. canadensis, L. caprearum, L. cinerea, L. furtiva, L. monterosatoi, Acanthochitona crinita, and A. fascicularis. © 2009 E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.

Journal URL: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119877016/tocgroup The AtoS–AtoC/Az two-component system and its target atoDAEB operon regulate poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (cPHB) biosynthesis upon acetoacetate- or spermidine-mediated induction. The response regulator AtoC/Az, the product of atoC gene, is the Az of ornithine decarboxylase. It belongs to the NtrC-NifA family of sigma54-RNA polymerase transcriptional activators. Many physiological roles have been proposed for Escherichia coli cPHB. We report, that a receiver domain-truncated form of AtoC/Az enhanced cPHB synthesis compared to wild type AtoC/Az overproducing cells. The constitutively active AtoC (Con), carrying mutation in C-terminal domain, resulted in basal cPHB levels. E. coli fadR mutants rendering the b-oxidation pathway constitutively active synthesized elevated cPHB compared to the basal cPHB levels in atoC (Con) fadR strains. A signal-dependent alteration of cPHB distribution was generated when the intracellular levels of the AtoS–AtoC/Az were increased. Specifically, acetoacetate enhanced cPHB accumulation initially in the membranes followed by an enhancement of cytoplasmic cPHB. Spermidine caused cPHB accumulation mainly in the membranes, suggesting interaction networks through AtoS–AtoC/Az system towards the cPHB regulation.

of Poster Preseantation Journal URL: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119877016/tocgroup The AtoS-AtoC two-component system in E. coli consists of the membrane bound AtoS sensor kinase and the AtoC response regulator. Upon acetoacetate-mediated induction, AtoS autophosporylates and consequently phosphorylates, thereby activating, AtoC. AtoC regulates positively the transcriptional activation of atoDAEB operon, encoding for enzymes involved in short-chain fatty acid catabolism. AtoS-AtoC system acting on its target atoDAEB operon regulates the biosynthesis and the intracellular distribution of short-chain poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate (cPHB), a biopolymer with many physiological roles in E. coli, under acetoacetate or spermidine induction. The extrachromosomal introduction of the atoSC locus and the atoDAEB operon in Dato- DAEB strain increases cPHB levels in the presence of the inducers. Enhancement of cPHB is also achieved by the AtoS-AtoC system in the absence of its target operon. DatoDAEB cells overproducing the AtoS kinase accumulate only the basal cPHB levels independently to the presence of acetoacetate or spermidine. However, AtoC up-regulates cPHB in the absence of atoDAEB operon upon induction. Exposure of DatoDAEB cells which overproduce the AtoS-AtoC system or only AtoC to cerulenin or acrylic acid, results to reduction of cPHB levels. Cerulenin, the inhibitor of fatty acids biosynthesis pathway, caused the more pronounced down-regulation of cPHB. These data suggest that in the absence of atoDAEB operon, AtoC possibly regulates cPHB biosynthesis through the fatty acid metabolism pathways, with the biosynthesis being the most potent mechanism. This work was supported by doctoral research scholarships of the ‘State Scholarships Foundation’ and ‘Onassis Foundation’.

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Novel hybrids of lipoic acid and trolox connected through triamine spacers as well as analogues in which the lipoic acid was attached at different positions of the chroman moiety of vitamin E through an amide bond, were synthesized and exhibited strong inhibition of the microsomal lipid peroxidation. Moreover, the new molecules, at 1 μM concentration, reduced reperfusion arrhythmias and MDA content on isolated rat heart preparations, with the 2- and 5-subtituted chromans possessing the better cardioprotective activity. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Homarine was isolated from nine edible species of marine molluscs belonging to classes Gastropoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. A thorough chromatographic, NMR and MS study provided evidence that homarine is a common and abundant metabolite of all these species. This study casts doubt on a previous assertion that 1,1’-dimethyi-[2,2’]-bipyridinium is a metabolite of the Bivalve Callista chione.

An object-oriented, statistical metadata model is presented, which can be used in building Information Systems providing metadata-guided, statistical data processing features. The semantics of the model are analyzed and a set of operators (transformations) is proposed that allows for the automatic manipulation of both data and metadata at the same time. We discuss the mathematical properties of these transformations and, subsequently, as a case study, we demonstrate how a statistical office can use the presented frame-work to build a web site offering ad hoc query capabilities to its data consumers.

There is a growing demand for more cost-efficient production processes in Statistical Institutes. One way to address this need is to equip Statistical Information Systems (SIS) with the ability to automatically produce statistical data and metadata of high quality and deliver them to the user via the Internet. Current approaches, although provide for the storage of appropriate metadata, do not use process metadata for guiding the production process. In this paper we present an approach on creating SISs that permits metadata-guided statistical processing based on an object-based, statistical metadata model. The model is not domain specific and can accommodate both microdata and macrodata. We have equipped the model with a set of transformations that can be used to automatically manipulate data and metadata. We show the applicability of transformations with some examples using actual statistical data for R&D expenditures. Finally, we demonstrate how the presented framework can be exploited for the construction of a web site that offers ad hoc query capabilities to the users of statistical data.