Walking away from VR as ‘empathy-machine’: peripatetic animations with 360-photogrammetry

My research partakes in an expanded documentary practice that weaves together walking, immersive technologies, and moving image. Two lines of enquiry motivate the research journey: the first responds to the trope of VR as 'empathy-machine' (Milk, 2015), often accompanied by the expression 'walking in someone else's shoes'. Within a research project that begins on foot, the idiom’s significance demands investigation. The second line of enquiry pursues a collaborative artistic practice informed by dialogue and poetry, where the bipedals of walking and the binaries of the digital are entwined by phenomenology, hauntology, performance, and the in-betweens of animation. My practice-as-research methodology involves desk study, experimentation with VR, AR, digital photogrammetry, and CGI animation. Central to my approach is the multifaceted notion of Peripatos ̶ as a school of philosophy, a stroll-like walk, and the path where the stroll takes place ̶ manifested both corporeally and as 'playful curiosity'. The thread that interweaves practice and theory has my body-moving in the centre; I call it the ‘camera-walk’: a processional shoot that documents a real place and the bodies that make it, while my hand holds high a camera-on-a-stick shooting 360-video. The resulting spherical video feeds into photogrammetric digital processing, and reassembles into digital 3D models that form the starting ground for still images, a site-specific installation, augmented reality (AR) exchanges, and short films. Because 360-video includes the body that carries the camera, the digital meshes produced by the ‘camera-walk’ also reveal the documentarian during the act of documenting. Departing from the pursuit of perfect replicas, my research articulates the iconic lineage of photogrammetry, embracing imperfections as integral. Despite the planned obsolescence of my digital instruments, I treat my 360-camera as a ‘dangerous tool’, uncovering (and inventing) its hidden virtualities, via Vilém Flusser. Against its formative intentions as an accessory for extreme sports, I focus on everyday life, and become inspired by Harun Farocki’s ‘another kind of empathy’. Within the collaborative projects presented within my thesis, I move away from the colonialist-inspired ideal of ‘walking in someone else’s shoes’, and ‘tread softly’ along the footsteps of my co-walkers

The science-policy interfaces of the European network for observing our changing planet : From Earth Observation data to policy-oriented decisions

This paper reports on major outcomes of the ERA-PLANET (The European network for observing our changing planet) project, which was funded under Horizon 2020 ERA-net co-funding scheme. ERA-PLANET strengthened the European Research Area in the domain of Earth Observation (EO) in coherence with the European partici-pation to Group on Earth Observation and the Copernicus European Union's Earth Observation programme. ERA -PLANET was implemented through four projects focused on smart cities and resilient societies (SMURBS), resource efficiency and environmental management (GEOEssential), global changes and environmental treaties (iGOSP) and polar areas and natural resources (iCUPE). These projects developed specific science-policy workflows and interfaces to address selected environmental policy issues and design cost-effective strategies aiming to achieve targeted objectives. Key Enabling Technologies were implemented to enhancing 'data to knowledge' transition for supporting environmental policy making. Data cube technologies, the Virtual Earth Laboratory, Earth Observation ontologies and Knowledge Platforms were developed and used for such applications.SMURBS brought a substantial contribution to resilient cities and human settlements topics that were adopted by GEO as its 4th engagement priority, bringing the urban resilience topic in the GEO agenda on par with climate change, sustainable development and disaster risk reduction linked to environmental policies. GEOEssential is contributing to the development of Essential Variables (EVs) concept, which is encouraging and should allow the EO community to complete the description of the Earth System with EVs in a close future. This will clearly improve our capacity to address intertwined environmental and development policies as a Nexus.iGOSP supports the implementation of the GEO Flagship on Mercury (GOS4M) and the GEO Initiative on POPs (GOS4POPs) by developing a new integrated approach for global real-time monitoring of environmental quality with respect to air, water and human matrices contamination by toxic substances, like mercury and persistent organic pollutants. iGOSP developed end-user-oriented Knowledge Hubs that provide data repository systems integrated with data management consoles and knowledge information systems.The main outcomes from iCUPE are the novel and comprehensive data sets and a modelling activity that contributed to delivering science-based insights for the Arctic region. Applications enable defining and moni-toring of Arctic Essential Variables and sets up processes towards UN2030 SDGs that include health (SDG 3), clean water resources and sanitation (SDGs 6 and 14).Peer reviewe

Fetal hemoglobin induction in azacytidine responders enlightens methylation patterns related to blast clearance in higher-risk MDS and CMML

Background: As new treatment options for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes are emerging, identification of prognostic markers for hypomethylating agent (HMA) treatment and understanding mechanisms of their delayed and short-term responses are essential. Early fetal hemoglobin (HbF) induction has been suggested as a prognostic indicator for decitabine-treated patients. Although epigenetic mechanisms are assumed, responding patients’ epigenomes have not been thoroughly examined. We aimed to clarify HbF kinetics and prognostic value for azacytidine treated patients, as well as the epigenetic landscape that might influence HbF re-expression and its clinical relevance. Results: Serial HbF measurements by high-performance liquid chromatography (n = 20) showed induction of HbF only among responders (p = 0.030). Moreover, HbF increase immediately after the first azacytidine cycle demonstrated prognostic value for progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.032, HR = 0.19, CI 0.24–1.63). Changes in methylation patterns were revealed with methylated DNA genome-wide sequencing analysis (n = 7) for FOG-1, RCOR-1, ZBTB7A and genes of the NuRD-complex components. Targeted pyrosequencing methodology (n = 28) revealed a strong inverse correlation between the degree of γ-globin gene (HBG2) promoter methylation and baseline HbF levels (p = 0.003, rs = − 0.663). A potential epigenetic mechanism of HbF re-expression in azacytidine responders was enlightened by targeted methylation analysis, through hypomethylation of site -53 of HBG2 promoter (p = 0.039, rs = − 0.504), which corresponds to MBD2-NuRD binding site, and to hypermethylation of the CpG326 island of ZBTB7A (p = 0.05, rs = 0.482), a known HbF repressor. These changes were associated to blast cell clearance (pHBG2 = 0.011, rs = 0.480/pZBTB7A = 0.026, rs = 0.427) and showed prognostic value for PFS (pZBTB7A = 0.037, HR = 1.14, CI 0.34–3.8). Conclusions: Early HbF induction is featured as an accessible prognostic indicator for HMA treatment and the proposed potential epigenetic mechanism of HbF re-expression in azacytidine responders includes hypomethylation of the γ-globin gene promoter region and hypermethylation of the CpG326 island of ZBTB7A. The association of these methylation patterns with blast clearance and their prognostic value for PFS paves the way to discuss in-depth azacytidine epigenetic mechanism of action. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.)</p

Sweet salt

A love story of obsession and sharp teeth between a woman left behind in a fairy story gone wrong and a merman trapped in a reality that drowns him

The clipper

A digital experimental music video based on the song "The Clipper" by Charlottefield. This film explores the cold sea and sinking ships

Effect of foliar applications on the qualitative and quantitative characters of cv. Assyrtiko and cv. Mavrotragano in the island of Santorini, under vineyard conditions

The Mediterranean basin is regarded as one of the world’s most affected regions by climate changes. Traditionally, viticulture in this region has been coping with high temperatures, heat waves and drought. Such particularly extreme conditions, which induce severe abiotic stress on plants, are expected to intensify due to the predicted climate changes in the future. Santorini Island seems not to be an exception. The increase of temperature and solar radiation, in combination with the low availability of water, made necessary the development and the application of methods in order to cope with the abiotic stresses of the grapevine. This study examined the foliar applications and their effect on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the grapes by spraying application of the two indigenous varieties of the vineyard of Santorini (Greece), Assyrtiko, and Mavrotragano. The experiment took place in the cultivation season 2019-2020. Specifically, treatments with kaolin and calcium carbonate, two inert materials capable of reflecting radiation were evaluated. In the case of Assyrtiko, the effect of kaolin and calcium carbonate was examined on two different training systems, on the traditional training system of Santorini ‘kouloura’, and on a single Guyot training system. In the case of Mavrotragano, the effect of kaolin and calcium carbonate was examined on the vines which are trained in double Guyot training system. Mechanical analyses of the grapes and berries were performed, as well as measurements of the characters of the must during the stage of technological maturity. The content of the phenolic compounds was determined in the skins and seeds and the antioxidant capacity of the samples was measured by using different methods, FRAP and DPPH, by the use of spectrophotometry. At the same time, the analysis of High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) indicated the concentrations of the main individual sugars and acids in the must as well as the measurements of the skin individual anthocyanins for cv Mavrotragano. The results of the treatments showed that the analyses related to weight, length, and width of the grapes and berries and the measurements of pH and total titratable acidity for both training systems and both varieties did not seem to be affected. Also, compared to grapes from control treatments, the levels of most phenolic compounds and anthocyanins of the sprayed samples mostly increased, and as a result, this leads to grapes of better quality, thus better wine quality, since most measurements conducted in the current experiment are also directly correlated with the organoleptic properties of the wine. Therefore, the use of kaolin and calcium carbonate through foliar applications constitutes an important means of adaptation of the vines which are grown under conditions of drought, in terms of economic and environmental sustainability reasons, while improving the quality of grapes

Internet use, eHealth literacy and attitudes toward computer/internet among people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a cross-sectional study in two distant European regions

Abstract Background Individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders use the Internet for general and health-related purposes. Their ability to find, understand, and apply the health information they acquire online in order to make appropriate health decisions – known as eHealth literacy – has never been investigated. The European agenda strives to limit health inequalities and enhance mental health literacy. Nevertheless, each European member state varies in levels of Internet use and online health information-seeking. This study aimed to examine computer/Internet use for general and health-related purposes, eHealth literacy, and attitudes toward computer/Internet among adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders from two distant European regions. Methods Data were collected from mental health services of psychiatric clinics in Finland (FI) and Greece (GR). A total of 229 patients (FI = 128, GR = 101) participated in the questionnaire survey. The data analysis included evaluation of frequencies and group comparisons with multiple linear and logistic regression models. Results The majority of Finnish participants were current Internet users (FI = 111, 87%, vs. GR = 33, 33%, P < .0001), while the majority of Greek participants had never used computers/Internet, mostly due to their perception that they do not need it. In both countries, more than half of Internet users used the Internet for health-related purposes (FI = 61, 55%, vs. GR = 20, 61%). The eHealth literacy of Internet users (previous and current Internet users) was found significantly higher in the Finnish group (FI: Mean = 27.05, SD 5.36; GR: Mean = 23.15, SD = 7.23, P < .0001) upon comparison with their Greek counterparts. For current Internet users, Internet use patterns were significantly different between country groups. When adjusting for gender, age, education and disease duration, country was a significant predictor of frequency of Internet use, eHealth literacy and Interest. The Finnish group of Internet users scored higher in eHealth literacy, while the Greek group of never Internet users had a higher Interest in computer/Internet. Conclusions eHealth literacy is either moderate (Finnish group) or low (Greek group). Thus, exposure to ICT and eHealth skills training are needed for this population. Recommendations to improve the eHealth literacy and access to health information among these individuals are provided