Turkey’s accession to the European Union: debating the most difficult enlargement ever

This study focuses on the intricacies of Turkey’s prospective membership in the European Union. It begins with a chronology of EU-Turkey relations and an account of the debate on the future of the European Union, which relates to Turkey’s prospective E.U. membership. It then explores the strategic implications of Turkey’s accession to the European Union and addresses recent developments on the issue, with an emphasis on the start of accession negotiations on Oct. 3, 2005. In conclusion, this study highlights the factors that may have an impact on the outcome of EU-Turkey accession negotiations in the coming years

Cyprus after elections: recapturing the Crans Montana momentum for peace negotiations

The beginning of 2018 coincided with elections on both sides of the "Green Line" in Cyprus. The 7 January 2018 parliamentary elections in the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)" and the 28 January - 4 February 2018 presidential elections in the Republic of Cyprus reshuffled the Cypriot political landscape. The disillusionment and the fatigue of pro-conflict-resolution forces became clear, and the Cyprus question was relatively low on the agenda of electoral candidates. Nevertheless, the aftermath of the elections finds hardliners and opponents to a UN-brokered peace deal in a weaker position. This provides an opportunity for the resumption of peace negotiations from the point at which they stalled at Crans Montana last July. Both communities should move fast to restore trust and resolve the remaining issues, as international interest should not be taken for granted. Inertia or a new failure in peace negotiations is likely to lead to the end of UN operations in Cyprus, which would boost insecurity across the island. (author's abstract

Faraway, so close: approaching the endgame in the Cyprus negotiations

Substantial progress was achieved in the bicommunal negotiations that were ongoing for almost two years and led to the decision to continue the talks in Switzerland. The aim was to create conditions conducive to a final bargaining agreement between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and the three guarantor states of the Republic of Cyprus: Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Although recent talks in Switzerland failed to deliver a breakthrough, negotiations continue, and hope survives. With the exception of negotiations on security and guarantees -a chapter whose negotiation inevitably also involves Cyprus' three guarantor states- convergence on negotiations in all other chapters, namely territory, property, governance and power sharing, as well as economic and EU matters, have resulted in agreement or have brought the positions of the parties within the radius of an agreement. (Autorenreferat

Cyprus negotiations thwarted by issues on security and guarantees: how can the peace process be revived?

The failure of the latest round of negotiations at Crans-Montana has disenchanted those who saw them as a historic opportunity for the resolution of the Cyprus problem. Issues regarding security and guarantees proved to be insurmountable obstacles to a solution. Although mutual recriminations, upcoming hydrocarbon drillings, and presi-dential elections in Cyprus will not help restore the negotiations in the immediate future, there is no better alternative to the continuation of the UN-led negotiations process, with the aim of achieving a federal solution. (author's abstract

Turkish political culture and the European Union.

This thesis examines the impact of improving EU-Turkey relations on Turkish political culture since the 1990s. While republican institutions and a multi-party political system were introduced in Turkey by the 1950s, political liberalism was the missing part of Turkey's substantive democratisation. The subject character of Ottoman political culture, compounded by the leading political role of the military and successive military coups, resulted in the consolidation of a republican political culture, which valued submissiveness toward state authority and did not favour citizen participation. The liberal deficit of Turkish politics became apparent with Turkey's decision to pursue membership of the European Union. Turkey's need to comply with the Copenhagen Criteria to achieve the start of EU accession negotiations meant that political liberalisation reforms were inevitable. This study embarks from an examination of the historical background to the political culture debate in Turkey. It then explores European and Turkish political cultures and draws a comparison between them. The core of this study consists of an exploration of the impact that Turkey's EU-motivated political reform had on civil society, state-society relations, the role of religion in politics and national identity. An assessment whether Turkish political culture has become more participant and citizen-centred is attempted in the concluding chapter. The theoretical framework of this thesis is informed by the work of Almond and Verba on civic culture. Historical institutionalist theories of European integration and path dependence theory are also applied to explain the role of the European Union in the liberalisation process of Turkish political culture. Putnam's work on two-level games helps explain the interplay of Turkish and European actors in the process of EU-Turkey negotiations, while his work on 16 social capital points at a feature, which can serve as the acid test for the emergence of a liberal, participant political culture in Turkey

Assessment of the sensitivity of anti-interferon binding and neutralizing antibody assays in patients with relapsing -remitting multiple sclerosis under interferon- beta treatment- A comparative study

Interferon beta (IFNβ) is a first line disease-modifying treatment for the management of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. IFNβ preparations may elicit an immune response reflected by the development of binding- (Babs) and neutralizing- antibodies (Nabs). The detrimental effect of Nabs is depicted by attenuation of treatment effect and as a result the deterioration of clinical and radiological parameters. The incidence and titers of Nabs vary by the preparation of IFNβ used, dose, frequency and route of administration, treatment duration and type of assay being used. In this study we aimed to assess the sensitivity of the binding and the neutralizing assays in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis under treatment with interferon-beta. The assessment of the results suggests that Western blot assay is more sensitive than ELISA for the detection of binding antibodies. The evaluation of CPE and Real-time-PCR results indicates that they possess similar sensitivity. However, CPE assay remains the gold standard method for the detection of neutralizing antibodies, based on the World Health Organization. Our results indicate that interlaboratory studies are needed for a commonly accepted assay that might reflect a reliable and cost-effective procedure for the Babs and Nabs detection in MS patients under IFNβ treatment

Multiple sclerosis and mental health related quality of life: The role of defense mechanisms, defense styles and family environment

Background: Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating chronic neurologic disease that can lead to disability and thus to deterioration of quality of life. Psychological parameters such as ego defense mechanisms, defense styles and family environment are important factors in the adaptation process, and as such they can play important roles in QoL. This study aims to assess the psychological factors as well as the clinical and demographic characteristics related to mental health quality of life (MHQoL). Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study conducted in a sample of 90 people with MS in the years 2018–2020. All participants completed the following questionnaires: MSQoL-54, DSQ-88, LSI, FES-R, SOC, BDI-II, STAI. Disability was assessed using EDSS. Results:In multiple linear regression, significant roles were played by depression (R2: 41.1%, p: 0.001) and, to a lesser extent, the event of a relapse (R2: 3.5%, p: 0.005), expressiveness (R2: 3.6%, p < 0.05) and image distortion style (R2: 4.5%, p: 0.032). After performing a hierarchical-stepwise analysis (excluding depression), the important factors were maladaptive defense style (R2: 23.7%, p: 0.002), the event of relapse (R2: 8.1%, p < 0.001), expressiveness (R2: 5.5%, p: 0.004) and self-sacrificing defense style (R2: 2.4%, p: 0.071). Conclusion: Psychological factors play important roles in MHQoL of people with multiple sclerosis. Thus, neurologists should integrate in their practice an assessment by mental health specialists. Moreover, targeted psychotherapeutic interventions could be planned i to improve QoL

Neuroprotection from inflammation: Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis facilitates traumatic spinal cord injury recovery

Passive immunization with T cells activated against central nervous system (CNS) - associated myelin antigens has been found to provide neuroprotection following CNS trauma, leading to the concept of protective autoimmunity. However, limited research exists about whether actively induced CNS autoimmunity may offer any similar benefit. In this study, the kinetics and the effect of endogenously anti-myelin activated T cells following spinal cord injury (SCI), were investigated. Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was actively induced in Lewis rats following immunization with myelin basic protein (MBP). In vivo 5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation from activated T cells was used as a marker of T cell- proliferation. BrdU was injected on 5th, 6th and 7th day post-induction (DPI) at all EAE-animals. On DPI 8, spinal cord compressive injury was induced by a transient extradural application of an aneurysm clip at the T8 spinal level. SCI resulted in spastic paralysis of hindlimbs, in all but sham-injured animals. Recovery from SCI was significantly better in EAE-animals. Activated mononuclear cells were selectively accumulated at the site of the injury. Axonal loss was less in the EAE group following SCI. Our findings indicate that actively induced autoimmunity against CNS myelin antigens may protect spinal cord pathways from mechanical injury

DIANA-miRGen v4 : indexing promoters and regulators for more than 1500 microRNAs

Deregulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression plays a critical role in the transition from a physiological to a pathological state. The accurate miRNA promoter identification in multiple cell types is a fundamental endeavor towards understanding and characterizing the underlying mechanisms of both physiological as well as pathological conditions. DIANA-miRGen v4 (www.microrna.gr/mirgenv4) provides cell type specific miRNA transcription start sites (TSSs) for over 1500 miRNAs retrieved from the analysis of >1000 cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE) samples corresponding to 133 tissues, cell lines and primary cells available in FANTOM repository. MiRNA TSS locations were associated with transcription factor binding site (TFBSs) annotation, for >280 TFs, derived from analyzing the majority of ENCODE ChIP-Seq datasets. For the first time, clusters of cell types having common miRNA TSSs are characterized and provided through a user friendly interface with multiple layers of customization. DIANA-miRGen v4 significantly improves our understanding of miRNA biogenesis regulation at the transcriptional level by providing a unique integration of high-quality annotations for hundreds of cell specific miRNA promoters with experimentally derived TFBSs.peer-reviewe

Innovative education and training in high power laser plasmas (PowerLaPs) for plasma physics, high power laser matter interactions and high energy density physics: experimental diagnostics and simulations

The second and final year of the Erasmus Plus programme "Innovative Education and Training in high power laser plasmas", otherwise known as PowerLaPs, is described. The PowerLaPs programme employs an innovative paradigm in that it is a multi-centre programme where teaching takes place in five separate institutes with a range of different aims and styles of delivery. The "in class" time is limited to four weeks a year, and the programme spans two years. PowerLaPs aims to train students from across Europe in theoretical, applied, and laboratory skills relevant to the pursuit of research in laser plasma interaction physics and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Lectures are intermingled with laboratory sessions, and continuous assessment activities. The programme, which is led by workers from the Hellenic Mediterranean University, and supported by co-workers from Queens University Belfast, the University of Bordeaux, the Czech Technical University in Prague, Ecole Polytechnique, the University of Ioannina, the University of Salamanca, and the University of York, has just finished its second and final year. Six Learning Teaching Training (LTT) activities have been held, at the Queens University Belfast, the University of Bordeaux, the Czech Technical University, the University of Salamanca, and the Institute of Plasma Physics and Lasers (CPPL) of the Hellenic Mediterranean University. The last of these institute hosted two two-week long Intensive Programmes (IPs), whilst the activities at the other four universities were each five days in length. In addition to this a "Multiplier Event" was held at the University of Ioannina, which will be briefly described. In this second year the work has concentrated upon training in both experimental diagnostics and simulation techniques appropriate to the study of Plasma Physics, High Power Laser-Matter Interactions and High Energy Density Physics. The nature of the programme will be described in detail and some metrics relating to the activities carried out will be presented. In particular this paper will focus upon the overall assessment of the programme