a feminist position on sharing governmental power and forging citizenship in Cyprus: proposals for the ongoing peace negotiations

On 12 August 2013, a feminist stood up at a podium and declared that she would work for the benefit of ‘everyone living in Cyprus, [irrespective] of language, religion, race, birthplace, class, age, physical ability, gender, or sexual orientation, to create an environment of fairness and equality, to replace the culture of conflict and violence with that of peace and reconciliation, while staying committed to the principles of democracy, social welfare, human rights and freedoms, and to establish a federal Cypriot state’. Her words were noted because the podium was a parliamentary one, albeit internationally shunned since it represents the unrecognised Turkish Cypriot state in northern Cyprus, and because the context in which she uttered them was her swearing-in ceremony as a newly elected people’s representative. The session was stopped mid-oath, live broadcasts went silent, questions of ‘treason’ were raised, and she reappeared, reading the ‘normal’ oath. Doğuş Derya later stated that she had wanted to swear according to her conscience and principles first, before reading out the given script. In Cyprus, this was the first of such public reformulations of constitutional tenets (isn’t this what a legislature oath points to?). It remains to be seen how they might be followed up, especially in the current context of recently resumed peace negotiations

Lateral colonialism: exploring modalities of engagement in decolonial politics from the periphery

This article contributes to an understanding of how the world outside the Global North is complicit in the visibility politics that render spaces of harm relevant or irrelevant to the reproduction of racism. Extending insights from decolonial theorising, we examine the colonial matrix that produces ongoing legacies of violence and racism through the case of Cyprus. As a peripheral location, Cyprus has been invisible to this story yet had a role in the distribution and mitigation of colonial violence through the institution of what we call lateral colonialism. Through this concept, we explore how peoples otherwise situated and outside the purview of these violences (non-colonisers and non-Blacks) were also enveloped and complicit in them. The case of Cypriots in Africa helps delineate three modalities of this involvement: governmental, entrepreneurial and religious. Lateral colonialism, we argue, is indispensable in linking decolonial possibilities to a global political agenda. The paper re-scripts Africa into Cypriot histories and Cyprus-qua-periphery into the decolonial narrative. In this double sense, lateral colonialism excavates connections that have been forgottern and obscured

Molecular beacon-based real-time PCR detection of primary isolates of Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis in environmental and clinical samples

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Abstract Background A fast and simple two-step multiplex real-time PCR assay has been developed to replace the traditional, laborious Salmonella serotyping procedure. Molecular beacons were incorporated into the assay as probes for target DNA. Target sequences were regions of the invA, prot6E and fliC genes specific for Salmonella spp. Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium, respectively, the two most clinically relevant serotypes. An internal amplification positive control was included in the experiment to ensure the optimal functioning of the PCR and detect possible PCR inhibition. Three sets of primers were used for the amplification of the target sequences. The results were compared to those of the Kauffmann-White antigenic classification scheme. Results The assay was 100% sensitive and specific, correctly identifying all 44 Salmonella strains, all 21 samples of S. Enteritidis and all 17 samples of S. Typhimurium tested in this work. Therefore, the entire experiment had specificity and sensitivity of 100%. The detection limit was down to 10 copies of DNA target per 25 μl reaction. Conclusion The assay can amplify and analyse a large number of samples in approximately 8 hours, compared to the 4 to 5 days conventional identification takes, and is thus considered a very promising method for detecting the two major serotypes of Salmonella quickly and accurately from clinical and environmental samples.Published versio

Lessons learned - resolving the enigma of genetic factors in IBS

IBS is the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder and phenotypically characterized by chronic abdominal discomfort, pain and altered defecation patterns. The pathophysiology of IBS is multifactorial, albeit with a substantial genetic component. To date, studies using various methodologies, ranging from family and twin studies to candidate gene approaches and genome-wide association studies, have identified several genetic variants in the context of IBS. Yet, despite enlarged sample sizes, increased statistical power and meta-analyses in the past 7 years, positive associations are still scarce and/or have not been reproduced. In addition, epigenetic and pharmacogenetic approaches remain in their infancy. A major hurdle is the lack of large homogenized case-control cohorts recruited according to standardized and harmonized criteria. The COST Action BM1106 GENIEUR (GENes in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Research Network EURope) has been established to address these obstacles. In this Review, the (epi)genetic working group of GENIEUR reports on the current state-of-the-art in the field, highlights fundamental flaws and pitfalls in current IBS (epi) genetic research and provides a vision on how to address and improve (epi) genetic approaches in this complex disorder in the future.This is the peer reviewed version of the paper: Gazouli, M., Wouters, M. M., Kapur-Pojskić, L., Bengtson, M.-B., Friedman, E., Nikčević, G., Demetriou, C. A., Mulak, A., Santos, J., & Niesler, B. (2016). Lessons learned—Resolving the enigma of genetic factors in IBS. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 13(2), 77–87. [https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2015.206]Published version: [https://imagine.imgge.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/977

Establishment and spread of the invasive ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in Greece: based on contributions from citizen scientists

Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773), also known as the harlequin ladybird, is an invasive non-native species intentionally introduced to many countries as a biological control agent of agricultural pests. In Greece, H. axyridis was first introduced as a biological control agent in 1994, with releases taking place between 1994 and 2000. For many years there was no evidence to indicate that H. axyridis had established self-sustaining populations. In 2008, a citizen science campaign was initiated aimed at raising awareness regarding the invasive status of H. axyridis to farmers and agronomists. The campaign did not yield results, and it was discontinued in 2011. During this study, the distribution, phenology, and presence of H. axyridis in different habitat types and protected areas in Greece are investigated, using both citizen science data and literature records. Records from iΝaturalist, the Alientoma database and social media examined herein demonstrate that H. axyridis has been established in Greece since 2010. Harmonia axyridis is currently present in 13 administrative districts of Greece, most of them at a considerable distance from the initial release sites. The harlequin ladybird is present in urban and agricultural habitats as well as seventeen NATURA 2000 sites. The adverse socioeconomic and environmental impacts of H. axyridis are briefly discussed alongside suggestions for management activities. Based on our findings, we propose the establishment of a national monitoring scheme for H. axyridis and native ladybirds that will also encourage public participation in recording ladybird observations and provide information on the distribution, spread and impact of this invasive non-native species

The mediterranean dietary pattern and breast cancer risk in Greek-Cypriot women: a case-control study

Background: Diet has long been suspected to impact on breast cancer risk. In this study we evaluated whether the degree of adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern modifies breast cancer risk amongst Greek-Cypriot women. Methods: Subjects included 935 cases and 817 controls, all participating in the MASTOS case-control study in Cyprus. The study was approved by the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee. Information on dietary intakes was collected using an interviewer administered 32-item Food Frequency Questionnaire. Information on demographic, anthropometric, lifestyle, and other confounding factors was also collected. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet pattern was assessed using two a-priory defined diet scores. In addition, dietary patterns specific to our population were derived using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between the dietary patters and breast cancer risk. Results: There was no association with breast cancer risk for either score, however, higher consumptions of vegetables, fish and olive oil, were independently associated with decreased risk. In addition, the PCA derived component which included vegetables, fruit, fish and legumes was shown to significantly reduce risk of breast cancer (ORs across quartiles of increasing levels of consumption: 0.89 95%CI: 0.65-1.22, 0.64 95%CI: 0.47-0.88, 0.67 95%CI: 0.49-0.92, P trend < 0.0001), even after adjustment for relevant confounders. Conclusions: Our results suggest that adherence to a diet pattern rich in vegetables, fish, legumes and olive oil may favorably influence the risk of breast cancer. This study is the first investigation of dietary effects on breast cancer risk in Cyprus, a country whose population has traditionally adhered to the Mediterranean diet