Towards an Integrated Model for Breast Cancer Etiology: The Crucial Role of the Number of Mammary Tissue-Specific Stem Cells

Perinatal events and conditions, notably birth weight, are associated with breast cancer risk in offspring, and correlates of mammary gland mass are predictors of breast cancer risk. These findings may be interpreted as indicating that high levels of estrogens and components of the insulin-like growth factor system during pregnancy favour the generation of mammary tissue-specific stem cells, and that the number of these cells, which is positively associated with mammary gland mass, is an important determinant of breast cancer risk. Perinatal events and conditions may also affect risk for other malignancies, but the evidence in the case of breast cancer is prominent, possibly because estrogens and the insulin-like growth factor system are both involved in breast cancer etiology and affect birth weight

WOMEN FACULTY MEMBERS’ PRESENTATION AND ACTIVATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC FIELD: A REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGICAL SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

The aim of this paper is to investigate and present the position of women faculty members in the international academic field, as well as the challenges they face in their professional careers, within the framework of a review of contemporary sociological scientific literature. In addition, the representation of women academics in administrative positions and positions of power in the academic field is investigated along with the potential existence of sex discrimination. The findings from related scientific studies are in agreement on the following: (a) women faculty members in the international field continue to be found lower down the academic hierarchy compared to their male counterparts. This is due to the fact that they face various challenges, the most significant of which is the lack of balance between their professional and social roles. These challenges hinder their progression and permanence in the academic field. (b) Women academics globally are under-represented and are in a minority in administrative positions within the university field. The factors that deter women faculty members from taking up or going after administrative positions are mainly linked to gender stereotypes and attitudes that predominate in the academic field regarding leadership style. And (c) gender inequality and sex discrimination continue to exist in the international university field. However, their extent is linked to the national–cultural factors of the various nations.  Article visualizations

Investigation of the Rights of Children in Primary Education through the Pedagogical Practices of the Teachers

In this paper, which makes use of Basil Bernstein’s theoretical framework, the investigation of the rights of children as they are implemented through the pedagogical practices of primary school teachers in Greece is, first of all, sought. Then, secondly, the degree of differentiation in the practices, with regard to these particular rights, which are determined by the Convention on the Rights of the  Child which was adopted in 1989 by the United Nations, is also sought. For the realization of the research, in which primary school teachers participated, semi-structured interviews were used as our research tool. The main findings were the following: that for the promotion of the rights of the children which relate to leisure time and play, non-discriminatory treatment, the right to the free expression of opinion and participation as well as for priority to be given to the children’s best interests, visible pedagogical practices in the space of the classroom were implemented, with explicit instructional and regulative rules, by the teachers in the sample. A few teachers expressed a desire for a weakening of the framing aimed at an increase in the pupils’ participation in the educational process in specific low status subjects

INVESTIGATING THE TEACHERS’ PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES IN MULTI-GRADE PRIMARY SCHOOLS: A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH

This research paper makes use of Basil Bernstein’s theoretical framework to investigate the pedagogical practices of teachers who work in multi-grade Greek primary schools, and the factors that influence the shaping of these particular pedagogical practices of theirs. The research was carried out using the research tool of the semi-structured interview with the participation of 16 teachers. The main findings of this study revealed that teachers in multi-grade primary schools implement mixed pedagogical practices which combine elements from both a visible and an invisible pedagogy. In particular, visible pedagogical practices were implemented during the teaching of subjects that are considered to be the primary subjects, such as Language and Mathematics. What’s more, it was discovered that there was a weakening of the evaluation criteria during the teaching of subjects considered to be secondary, such as History. Finally, the operational teaching conditions in the primary schools as well as administrative factors appeared to influence the shaping of the pedagogical practices that the teachers implemented.  Article visualizations

From thyroid cartilage to thyroid gland

The ancient Greek physicians skipped the description of thyroid gland probablydue to their difficultly to understand the anatomy and the existence of this organ.Although the ancient physicians had described the disease bronchocele (Greek:Βρογχοκήλη), this disease did not correspond exactly to goitre. The first officialdescription of this gland was made by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564). Thomas Wharton (1614–1673) in his work Adenographia was the one who coined the term ‘Glandulae thyreoidea‘. 

Augmented paper maps : design of POI markers and effects on group navigation

One popular and wide use of augmented-reality based application, is the projection of points of interests on top of the phones' camera view. In this paper we discuss the implementation of an AR application that acts as a magic lens over printed maps, overlaying POIs and routes. This method expands the information space available to members of groups during navigation, partially mitigating the issue of several group members trying to share a small screen device. We examine two aspects critical to the use of augmented paper maps: (a) Appropriate visualisation of POIs to facilitate selection and (b) augmentation of paper maps with route instructions for use in group situations. In this paper, we evaluate POI visualisation in a lab setting and augmented paper map navigation with groups of real tourists in a preliminary field trial. Our work complements existing literature introducing self-reporting questionnaires to measure affective state and user experience during navigation

Periodontitis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic periodontitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic inflammatory diseases in which neutrophilic inflammation plays a major role. There are a few studies showing that these two entities share various predisposing factors and pathogenetic mechanisms; however, a direct connection between them has not yet been achieved. Epidemiology data may also show a connection between the two conditions. Neutrophilic inflammation in periodontitis and COPD is orchestrated by CD8+ lymphocytes and macrophages, leading to the aggregation of neutrophils and causing an imbalance to the proteases and antiproteases equilibrium. Finally, further research is needed to clarify the common pathogenesis of the two diseases to optimize their therapeutic management

Low carbohydrate-high protein diet and incidence of cardiovascular diseases in Swedish women: prospective cohort study

Objective To study the long term consequences of low carbohydrate diets, generally characterised by concomitant increases in protein intake, on cardiovascular health

Does coffee protect against hepatocellular carcinoma?

We analysed the relation between coffee consumption and hepatocellular carcinoma in two case-control studies conducted between 1984 and 1998 in Italy and Greece, including 834 cases and 1912 controls. Compared to non coffee drinkers, the multivariate odds ratio was 0.7 for drinkers of three or more cups per day