What is Allium achaium Boiss. & Orph.? Disentangling the taxonomy of a Greek mountain species

Allium oreohellenicum Tzanoud., Tsakiri & Raus (Amaryllidaceae), endemic of the Greek mountains, is described and illustrated as a species new to science. Information regarding its cytology, geographical distribution and taxonomic relationships is also provided. Material belonging to A. oreohellenicum was formerly known/classified as A. achaium Boiss & Orph., a taxon described in 1882 based on a gathering by Orphanides from Mt Klokos (N Peloponnisos, Greece). A detailed study of the Orphanides gathering concerned revealed that it essentially belongs to A. frigidum Boiss. & Heldr., a taxon described 28 years earlier, and so the need for a new name

NoBody’s Perfect: Charm, Willfulness and Resistance

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the representations of disabled bodies on the basis of Niko von Glasow’s documentary film NoBody’s Perfect. Drawing on disability aesthetics (Siebers, 2006) and the notion of crip killjoys (Johnson & McRuer, 2014), it is argued that representations of crip killjoys and their unruly corporeality offer an aesthetic and political context in which the politics of disgust and resentment can be challenged (Hughes, 2015; Soldatic & Meekosha, 2012)

Ο ρόλος του κράτους λιμένα στην προστασία της θαλάσσιας ασφάλειας

Αντικείμενο της παρούσας μελέτης είναι ο ρόλος και η συμβολή του κράτους λιμένα στη θαλάσσια ασφάλεια δια της επιμέρους διαδικασίας υπό την οποία διεξάγεται ο έλεγχος του κράτους λιμένα στα ξένα πλοία. Ειδικότερα, θα ακολουθήσουν εισαγωγικές παρατηρήσεις για το ρόλο του κράτους σημαίας στον έλεγχο των πλοίων, τον προβληματισμό γύρω από τις ‘σημαίες ευκαιρίας’ και την ιστορική εξέλιξη της δικαιοδοσίας του κράτους λιμένα, με επιμέρους αναφορά στο ρόλο του ΙΜΟ στη διαμόρφωση των εξουσιών του κράτους λιμένα. Ιδιαίτερη θέση κατέχει στη παρούσα μελέτη το νομικό καθεστώς, που διέπει τον έλεγχο του κράτους λιμένα σε διεθνές και ευρωπαϊκό επίπεδο, ενώ ειδικότερη αναφορά θα γίνει στο ρόλο των νηογνωμόνων. Το τελευταίο μέρος της μελέτης αναφέρεται στη συνεργασιακή σχέση της διεθνούς έννομης τάξης με την ευρωπαϊκή, αλλά και στον προβληματισμό γύρω από τη μεταξύ τους σύγκρουση που παρατηρείται, λόγω της παράλληλης και, πολλές φορές, αλληλένδετης σχέσης τους στον τομέα της ενίσχυσης της θαλάσσιας ασφάλειας.The subject of this study is the role and contribution of the port State to maritime safety through the port state control which is carried out on foreign ships. There will be reference to introductory remarks on the role of the flag state in ship’s inspection, the reflection on flags of convenience and the historical evolution of port State jurisdiction, with special reference to the role of the IMO and its influence on the powers of the port State. A special reference will be made in the legal regime governing port state control at international and European level, with special reference to the role of classification societies. The last part of the study refers to the cooperative relationship of the international legal order with the European one, but also to the conflict between them, due to their parallel and often interdependent relationship in the field of strengthening maritime safet

Evaluation of nano-systems as vaccine platforms against infectious diseases

Τα εμβόλια αποτελούν μια από τις πιο σημαντικές σελίδες της ιστορίας της ανθρώπινης υγείας παρέχοντας προστασία εναντίον πολλών λοιμωδών νοσημάτων. Παρά τα αναμφισβήτητα πλεονεκτήματα των κλασικών εμβολίων, αυτά έχουν και σοβαρούς περιορισμούς όπως είναι η χαμηλή ανοσογονικότητα και η μικρής διάρκειας δραστικότητα, η χρονοβόρα διαδικασία ανάπτυξης και παρασκευής, το υψηλό κόστος καθώς και οι περιορισμένοι τρόποι χορήγησης και αποθήκευσης των εμβολίων αυτών. Τα παραπάνω οδήγησαν στην ανάπτυξη του κλάδου των νανο-εμβολίων, που περιλαμβάνει συστήματα εμβολίων μεγέθους 1-1.000 nm. Αυτές οι πλατφόρμες λειτουργούν είτε ως συστήματα μεταφοράς αντιγόνων είτε ως ανοσοενισχυτικά και οδηγούν σε ενεργοποίηση του έμφυτου και του επίκτητου ανοσοποιητικού συστήματος. Τα νανο-εμβόλια μπορούν να ταξινομηθούν με βάση τα φυσικοχημικά και μορφολογικά χαρακτηριστικά τους, σχηματίζοντας πλατφόρμες με μοναδικές ιδιότητες. Τα λιποσώματα, τα όμοια με ιό σωματίδια (VLPs), τα νανο-γαλακτώματα, τα πολυμερικά και ανόργανα νανο-σωματίδια όπως και οι ιικοί φορείς είναι οι κύριες κατηγορίες νανο-εμβολίων που αυτήν τη στιγμή βρίσκονται σε φάσεις προ-κλινικών και κλινικών δοκιμών. Οι νανο-διαμορφώσεις επιτρέπουν την παρασκευή καινοτόμων εμβολίων, όπως τα εμβόλια τρίτης γενιάς, αλλά θα πρέπει να μελετώνται σχολαστικά ώστε να μειωθούν οι πιθανοί κίνδυνοι από τη χρήση τους στη κλινική πράξη. Οι Οργανισμοί Φαρμάκων είναι υπεύθυνοι για τη σύνταξη νομοθετικών πλαισίων για τα νανο-εμβόλια. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, τόσο οι φαρμακευτικές εταιρείες όσο και οι πληθυσμιακές κοινότητες θα ωφεληθούν μειώνοντας τον κίνδυνο μιας επερχόμενης πανδημίας ή άλλων λοιμωδών νοσημάτων.Vaccines are one of the most important pages of human health by providing protection against various infections. Although the indisputable benefits of classic vaccines, they have some serious limitations such as low immunogenicity and short-term effectiveness, time-consuming developing and/or manufacturing processes, high cost, and limited variety of administration routes and storage. The above led to the development of nanovaccinology, a science area which concludes vaccine platforms of 1-1000 nm. These platforms function either as antigen delivery systems or as immune-stimulators that induce both innate and adaptive immune responses. Nanovaccines can be classified by their physicochemical and morphological characteristics and, thus, platforms with unique properties are able to form. Liposomes, virus-like particles, nano-emulsions, polymeric or inorganic nanoparticles as well as viral vectors are the main categories that are currently on the market or in clinical and pre-clinical phases. Nano-formulations allow the manufacture of innovative vaccines, such as the third generation vaccines, but they shall be carefully studied to minimize probable dangers from their use in clinical practice. Medicine Agencies are responsible for composing a legislative framework about nanovaccinology. In this way, both pharmaceutical companies and human populations will be benefited by eliminating the danger of upcoming pandemics or other infectious diseases

Local development and cultural landscapes: getting to know the inaccessible villages of the greek war of independence

The cultural landscapes have a dual, material and intangible nature being the result of interactions between people and nature through time. Considering that its understanding requires integrated analysis techniques we experimented a mapping method in «Revolutionary Palimpsests», a research project investigating the cultural landscapes of settlements that played an important role in the Greek War of Independence. Combining design, cartography and visual arts and focusing on socio-spatial complexities, our researchers produced maps of both artistic and informative nature revealing the mnemonic traces of such a historical event on those settlements. Maps’ exhibition in a visual art event is expected to sensitize the public to that local heritage. We argue that the protection and promotion of the cultural landscape plays a significant role in development, strengthening the local identity and commitment, also enhancing the attractiveness, that is essential especially for inaccessible settlements that are facing development deficiencies, such as many mountainous and island settlements in Greece. From about 150 mapped «revolutionary settlements» we will refer below to the example of two inaccessible areas, Souli in Epirus and Mani (Maina) in Peloponnese, exploring the question of whether the protection and promotion of their cultural landscape could contribute to development

Difficult intubation provokes bacteremia

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of bacteremia after mask ventilation, laryngoscopy, and endotracheal intubation before induction of general anesthesia and to discover any correlation between traumatic manipulations and bacteremia. The specific bacteria responsible, knowledge of which may guide the prophylactic use of antibiotics, also were investigated. Methods: Fifty patients were enrolled. Three 10-mL blood samples were collected from a peripheral vein 10 min before induction of anesthesia, 10 min after mask ventilation, and 10 min after intubation. All samples were placed in aerobic and anaerobic bottles for culture and bacterial identification. Results: Cultures received 10 min after intubation were positive in 12% of patients. The following strains were isolated: Escherichia coli in two cases, Staphylococcus aureus in three cases, and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius in one case. A strong positive correlation was found between difficult intubation and bacteremia. No correlation between bacteremia and easy intubation or between bacteremia and face mask ventilation was identified. Conclusion: Traumatic manipulations during difficult laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation could cause bacteremia. This finding may justify and guide prophylactic use of antibiotics. 52

A multi-stage genome-wide association study of bladder cancer identifies multiple susceptibility loci.

We conducted a multi-stage, genome-wide association study of bladder cancer with a primary scan of 591,637 SNPs in 3,532 affected individuals (cases) and 5,120 controls of European descent from five studies followed by a replication strategy, which included 8,382 cases and 48,275 controls from 16 studies. In a combined analysis, we identified three new regions associated with bladder cancer on chromosomes 22q13.1, 19q12 and 2q37.1: rs1014971, (P = 8 × 10⁻¹²) maps to a non-genic region of chromosome 22q13.1, rs8102137 (P = 2 × 10⁻¹¹) on 19q12 maps to CCNE1 and rs11892031 (P = 1 × 10⁻⁷) maps to the UGT1A cluster on 2q37.1. We confirmed four previously identified genome-wide associations on chromosomes 3q28, 4p16.3, 8q24.21 and 8q24.3, validated previous candidate associations for the GSTM1 deletion (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹) and a tag SNP for NAT2 acetylation status (P = 4 × 10⁻¹¹), and found interactions with smoking in both regions. Our findings on common variants associated with bladder cancer risk should provide new insights into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis