An overview of the armed conflicts in Late Byzantium.Theoretical Foundations and Current Research

Η μελέτη αποτελεί μία πρώιμη σύνοψη των συμπερασμάτων που προκύπτουν από το υλικό που συγκεντρώθηκε στο πλαίσιο του ερευνητικού προγράμματος «Ευρετήριο Πολεμικών Συγκρούσεων της Ύστερης Βυζαντινής Περιόδου». Οι παλαιότεροι μελετητές της στρατιωτικής ιστορίας είχαν υιοθετήσει ένα θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο το οποίο βασιζόταν στην έννοια της «αποφασιστικής μάχης», όπως την είχαν οραματιστεί οι θεωρητικοί του πολέμου τον 19ο αι. Μετά από μία σύντομη αναδρομή στην ιστορία της έρευνας, ιδίως των τελευταίων δεκαετιών, αναλύονται ορισμένα χαρακτηριστικά παραδείγματα εκστρατειών που χρονολογούνται στην υστεροβυζαντινή περίοδο. Το συμπέρασμα το οποίο συνάγεται από την ανάλυση αυτή είναι ότι οι εκ παρατάξεως μάχες ήταν κατά πολύ σπανιότερες σε σχέση με άλλου τύπου συγκρούσεις (κυρίως πολιορκίες και επιδρομές) που στόχο είχαν να φθείρουν τον αντίπαλο και όχι να καταστρέψουν τον στρατό του

Convergence in measure under Finite Additivity

We investigate the possibility of replacing the topology of convergence in probability with convergence in $L^1$. A characterization of continuous linear functionals on the space of measurable functions is also obtained

Microbial signatures in human periodontal disease: a metatranscriptome meta-analysis

The characterization of oral microbial communities and their functional potential has been shaped by metagenomics and metatranscriptomics studies. Here, a meta-analysis of four geographically and technically diverse oral shotgun metatranscriptomics studies of human periodontitis was performed. In total, 54 subgingival plaque samples, 27 healthy and 27 periodontitis, were analyzed. The core microbiota of the healthy and periodontitis group encompassed 40 and 80 species, respectively, with 38 species being common to both microbiota. The differential abundance analysis identified 23 genera and 26 species, that were more abundant in periodontitis. Our results not only validated previously reported genera and species associated with periodontitis with heightened statistical significance, but also elucidated additional genera and species that were overlooked in the individual studies. Functional analysis revealed a significant up-regulation in the transcription of 50 gene families (UniRef-90) associated with transmembrane transport and secretion, amino acid metabolism, surface protein and flagella synthesis, energy metabolism, and DNA supercoiling in periodontitis samples. Notably, the overwhelming majority of the identified gene families did not exhibit differential abundance when examined across individual datasets. Additionally, 4 bacterial virulence factor genes, including TonB dependent receptor from P. gingivalis, surface antigen BspA from T. forsynthia, and adhesin A (PsaA) and Type I glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from the Streptococcus genus, were also found to be significantly more transcribed in periodontitis group. Microbial co-occurrence analysis demonstrated that the periodontitis microbial network was less dense compared to the healthy network, but it contained more positive correlations between the species. Furthermore, there were discernible disparities in the patterns of interconnections between the species in the two networks, denoting the rewiring of the whole microbial network during the transition to the disease state. In summary, our meta-analysis has provided robust insights into the oral active microbiome and transcriptome in both health and disease

Stress echocardiography in elderly patients with coronary artery disease Applicability, safety and prognostic value of dobutamine and adenosine echocardiography in elderly patients

AbstractObjectives. Our aim was to determine the applicability, safety and prognostic value of adenosine and dobutamine stress echocardiography in patients ≥70 years old.Background. These tests are sometimes mandatory because of difficulties and inaccuracies in interpreting traditional electrocardiographic stress tests. Furthermore, if these tests could be used to avoid coronary arteriography and cardiac catheterization, they would become essential in the care of the elderly, whose numbers are increasing.Methods. We performed coronary arteriography and dobutamine and adenosine stress echocardiographic tests in 120 patients (72 men) ≥70 years old who entered the hospital because of chest pain and had known or suspected coronary artery disease. The stress tests were performed on separate days, within 2 weeks of coronary arteriography. Both the arteriograms and the echocardiograms were analyzed by two experts who had no knowledge of the patients' other data or the other interpreter's report. Tests were judged to have positive or negative results, and the patients were followed up for the development of cardiac events. Univariate and multivariate analyses and other statistical modalities were applied for comparisons.Results. Documented coronary artery disease was found in 89 patients. During the 14 ± 7 months of follow-up, cardiac events developed in 50 patients, including 3 (7.9%) of 38 patients with negative dobutamine and 12 (20.7%) of 58 patients with negative adenosine test results. Demonstration of any abnormality on stress echocardiography was an independent factor for cardiac events, both for dobutamine (relative risk 7.3) and for adenosine (relative risk 3.0). Both cessation of dobutamine or adenosine tests and diagnosis of disease in two or more coronary vessels were also independent predictors. ST segment depression ≥1 mm was related to future events only with the dobutamine test.Conclusions. These echocardiographic stress tests proved safe and well tolerated. They successfully stratified this cohort of elderly patients with coronary artery disease to low or high risk subgroups for subsequent cardiac events

Factors Affecting Disaster Resilience in Oman: Integrating Stakeholder Analysis and Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping

Planning for community resilience to disasters is a process that involves co‐ordinated action within and between relevant organizations and stakeholders, with the goal of reducing disaster risk. The effectiveness of this process is influenced by a range of factors, both positively and negatively, that need to be identified and understood so as to develop organizational capacity to build community resilience to disaster. This study investigates disaster planning and management in Oman, a country facing significant natural hazards, and with a relatively new system of institutional disaster management. Fuzzy cognitive mapping integrated with stakeholder analysis is used to identify relevant factors and their inter‐relationships, and hence provides an improved understanding of disaster governance. Developing an improved understanding of the complexity of this institutional behavior allows identification of opportunities to build greater resilience to disaster through improved planning and emergency response. We make recommendations for improved disaster management in Oman relating to governance (including improved plan dissemination and closer working with community organizations), risk assessment, public education, built environment development, and financing for disaster resilience

A simple characterization of tightness for convex solid sets of positive random variables

We show that for a convex solid set of positive random variables to be tight, or equivalently bounded in probability, it is necessary and sufficient to be radially bounded, i.e. that every ray passing through one of its elements eventually leaves the set. The result is motivated by problems arising in mathematical finance

A Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Approach to Assess Usefulness of Tourism Reviews by Considering Bias Identified in Sentiments and Articulacy

Assessing the usefulness of reviews has been the aim of several research studies. However, results regarding the significance of usefulness determinants are often contradictory, thus decreasing the accuracy of reviews’ helpfulness estimation. Also, bias in user reviews attributed to differences, e.g., in gender, nationality, etc., may result in misleading judgments, thus diminishing reviews’ usefulness. Research is needed for sentiment analysis algorithms that incorporate bias embedded in reviews, thus improving their usefulness, readability, credibility, etc. This study utilizes fuzzy relations and fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) in order to calculate reviews’ usefulness by incorporating users’ biases as expressed in terms of reviews’ articulacy and sentiment polarity. It selected and analyzed 95,678 hotel user reviews from Tripadvisor, written by users from five specific nationalities. The findings indicate that there are differences among nationalities in terms of the articulacy and sentiment of their reviews. The British are most consistent in their judgments expressed in titles and the main body of reviews. For the British and the Greeks, review titles suffice to convey any negative sentiments. The Dutch use fewer words in their reviews than the other nationalities. This study suggests that fuzzy logic captures subjectivity which is often found in reviews, and it can be used to quantify users’ behavioral differences, calculate reviews’ usefulness, and provide the means for developing more accurate voting systems