The Certificate of Inheritance – Legal Nature and Probative Value

The certificate of inheritance is the final act of the notary succession procedure which serves as proof of quality of heir and the property right of the accepted heirs over the goods of the successor mass, in the amount awarded to each heir. Doctrine and specialty literature continue to express controversy regarding this notary act, even in the light of new provisions of the Civil Code. Consequently, the current paper aims to analyse the legal nature and the probative value of the certificate of inheritance, regarding the internal legal provisions as well as the European ones, by considering the decisions of national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union

D-instantons and twistors: some exact results

We present some results on instanton corrections to the hypermultiplet moduli space in Calabi-Yau compactifications of Type II string theories. Previously, using twistor methods, only a class of D-instantons (D2-instantons wrapping A-cycles) was incorporated exactly and the rest was treated only linearly. We go beyond the linear approximation and give a set of holomorphic functions which, through a known procedure, capture the effect of D-instantons at all orders. Moreover, we show that for a sector where all instanton charges have vanishing symplectic invariant scalar product, the hypermultiplet metric can be computed explicitly.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures, uses JHEP3.cls; some changes in section 3.3.3; corrected formula for the contact potentia

The Intuitive Bioclimatism and Embedded Sustainability of Cypriot Vernacular Farmhouses, as Principles for their Strategic Restoration and Reuse

This research aims to investigate the bioclimatic design, sustainability and environmental behaviour of Cypriot vernacular farmhouses, as part of small-scale family-owned farmsteads. These farmhouses, located in village outskirts, are still in operation, greatly supporting the primary sector of Cypriot economy. Current uses have conduced arbitrary modifications in their morphology, layout, construction and usage, which in the past had contributed positively to thermal comfort and household autonomy. In the present, these modifications caused farmhouses to become climatically inept, devoid of Bioclimatism and Sustainability. This research employs multiple case studies with a fully-integrated mixed-methods design. Findings are drawn via triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data from ethnographic participant observation, post-occupancy evaluation survey, interviews, in-situ documentation and environmental monitoring. Initial findings show that there is a tangible and intangible relationship between the dwelling, its inhabitants and the environment, strengthened in time due to tradition, accumulated knowledge and experience, and born out of necessity, scarcity and practicality. It is an interdependent, dynamic and adaptive reciprocity, induced by the complex interplay of socio-cultural, economic, technological, aesthetic and environmental factors. The end result was for bioclimatic design to be applied intuitively and sustainability to be embedded in the form, configuration, construction and operational modes of farmhouses. As Cyprus attempts to conform to its EU obligations regarding the sustainable development of rural environments and make the transition towards nearly-zero energy buildings, the Cypriot vernacular farmhouse can offer valuable lessons in building design and performance, whilst provide clear guidance for its strategic restoration and reuse

Self-Explanation for Effective Learning in Engineering Chemistry: An Exploratory Study for Incoming Freshmen

New students in engineering and science typically face difficulties in adapting their learning strategies to the requirements and challenges of college education. One of the major factors that challenges students engaged in this transition is their ability to build and successfully use deepreasoning skills. To address this challenges instructors need to employ instructional strategies that shift students\u27 focus from memorization of procedures and equations toward the integrative use of prior and new knowledge introduced in the classroom. In this paper, self-explanation was proposed as the core element of such instructional strategies because it relies on the explanation a learner generates on his or her own as opposed to the explanations provided by an external source such as an instructor or a book. The primary goal of this study was to explore to what degree the use of self-explanation strategies improve students\u27 performance on basic chemistry problems. Because self-explanation involves proper use of prior knowledge, a second goal of this study was to find if the level of prior knowledge influences the effectiveness of self-explanation. A number of 52 incoming freshmen students enrolled in the introductory chemistry module of a three-week summer learning program participated in the two-group between subjects completely randomized experiment used in this study. The results of this exploratory study suggest that engaging students in a self-explanation behavior using guiding questions can be an effective tool in chemistry learning. However, the effectiveness of this strategy is diminished if students did not reach the threshold of domainspecific prior knowledge required by the complexity of the task. This strategy can be easily adapted to increase the effectiveness of tutoring sessions, review sessions, or short transfer story problems. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2009

Temporal evolution of thoracocentesis-induced changes in spirometry and respiratory muscle pressures

Background Several studies investigated the effects of thoracocentesis on aspects of respiratory function without generally ensuring absence of coexistent lung pathology or homogeneity in initial size of the effusion. Methods We studied 90 patients aged 61.6 ±15.9 years (mean±SD) separated into a group A with small-sized or medium-sized effusion (A=56 patients) and a group B with large and massive one (B=34 patients). There was no significant lung lesion or cardiovascular pathology. The basic spirometric parameters and maximal respiratory pressures were recorded on three instances: just before thoracocentesis (T1), 30 min after completion of the procedure (T2) and after 48 hours (T3). Results At T2 vs T1, groups A and B respectively presented significant change (mean±SD) (increase) in forced vital capacity (FVC) of 0.071±0.232 and 0.139 ±0.224 L, in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) of 0.127±0.231 and 0.201±0.192 L, in FEV1/FVC of 2.8% and 4.9%, in peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) of 0.342 ±0.482 and 0.383±0.425 L/s, in maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) of 0.049±0.037 and 0.049±0.039 kPa and in maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) of 0.040 ±0.041 kPa only in group A while decrease in MIP with significant change of 0.055±0.051 kPa in group B. At T3 vs T2 in groups A and B, there was significant change (decrease) in FEV1/FVC of 2.7% and 4.6% as well as significant change (increase) in MIP of 0.036 ±0.046 and 0.115±0.060 and in MEP of 0.049±0.043 and 0.070±0.048 kPa. Conclusions Thoracocentesis is associated with progressive-small relative to the volume of fluid removed-increases in lung volumes. In larger effusions at T2, a transient decrease in MIP is observed presumably due to temporary geometric distortion of the diaphragm immediately after fluid removal. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved

Oral Candida Infection in Psoriatic Patients Treated with IL17A Inhibitors: Report of 3 Cases and a Comprehensive Review of the Literature

An intact and fully functional immune system plays a crucial role in the prevention of several infectious diseases. Interleukin (IL)17 is significantly involved in oral mucosa immunity against several antigens and microorganisms, including Candida albicans (CA). Herein, we present three cases of oral candidiasis (OC) related to the use of an IL17A inhibitor for psoriasis. Three psoriatic individuals presented for evaluation of widespread symptomatic oral lesions temporally correlated with the onset of IL17A inhibitors (secukinumab in two patients and brodalumab in one patient). Clinical examination revealed either partially removable white plaques in an erythematous background (case #1) or diffuse erythematous lesions (cases #2 and 3) involving several areas of the oral mucosa. Cytology smear, accompanied by histopathologic examination in case #1, confirmed the clinical impression of OC in all three cases. All patients received antifungal therapy with satisfactory clinical response. No discontinuation of the antipsoriatic regimen was recommended, but all patients were advised to remain under monitoring for possible OC relapses. During the last few years, new systemic biologic agents targeting IL17 have been used for the management of variable immune-mediated diseases. Few clinical trials and scarce case reports have shown that these medications place individuals at high risk of developing candidiasis. We propose that patients treated with these medications should be at close monitoring for the development of OC and, if it occurs, receive appropriate management

Oral Candida Infection in Psoriatic Patients Treated with IL17A Inhibitors: Report of 3 Cases and a Comprehensive Review of the Literature

An intact and fully functional immune system plays a crucial role in the prevention of several infectious diseases. Interleukin (IL)17 is significantly involved in oral mucosa immunity against several antigens and microorganisms, including Candida albicans (CA). Herein, we present three cases of oral candidiasis (OC) related to the use of an IL17A inhibitor for psoriasis. Three psoriatic individuals presented for evaluation of widespread symptomatic oral lesions temporally correlated with the onset of IL17A inhibitors (secukinumab in two patients and brodalumab in one patient). Clinical examination revealed either partially removable white plaques in an erythematous background (case #1) or diffuse erythematous lesions (cases #2 and 3) involving several areas of the oral mucosa. Cytology smear, accompanied by histopathologic examination in case #1, confirmed the clinical impression of OC in all three cases. All patients received antifungal therapy with satisfactory clinical response. No discontinuation of the antipsoriatic regimen was recommended, but all patients were advised to remain under monitoring for possible OC relapses. During the last few years, new systemic biologic agents targeting IL17 have been used for the management of variable immune-mediated diseases. Few clinical trials and scarce case reports have shown that these medications place individuals at high risk of developing candidiasis. We propose that patients treated with these medications should be at close monitoring for the development of OC and, if it occurs, receive appropriate management

In vitro metabolism of 2-ethylhexyldiphenyl phosphate (EHDPHP) by human liver microsomes

2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPHP) is used as flame retardant and plasticizer additive in a variety of consumer products. Since EHDPHP is toxic to aquatic organisms and has been detected in environmental samples, concerns about human exposure and toxicity are emerging. With the aim of identifying human-specific metabolites, the biotransformation of EHDPHP was investigated using human liver microsomes. Using an in silico program (Meteor) for the prediction of metabolites, untargeted screening tools (agilent Mass Hunter) and a suitable analysis platform based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and quadrupole time-of-flight high resolution mass spectrometer (QTOF-MS), for the first time a wide variety of phases-I and II metabolites of EHDPHP were identified. Mono- and di-hydroxylated metabolites, keto metabolites, mixed keto and hydroxylated metabolites and diphenyl phosphate were the major phase-I metabolites of EHDPHP. Glucuronidated metabolites of phase-I metabolites of EHDPHP were also formed by human liver microsomes. Using these results, we propose a general metabolism pathway for EHDPHP in humans and a number of candidate biomarkers for assessing the human exposure to this ubiquitous phosphate flame retardant and plasticizer in future biomonitoring studies. Furthermore, we provide a template analytical approach based on the combination of untargeted and targeted screening and UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis suitable for use in future metabolism studies