THE SCHOOL DROPOUT OF ROMA STUDENTS: A RESEARCH EFFORT ON THE CAUSES OF THE PHENOMENON

The group of Roma, who live and work in Greece, has failed to face the social prejudice regarding their social integration so far. The school dropout rate of Roma students, which in many cases confirms the inability of their school integration, also contributes to this. In addition, school integration is a prerequisite for the smooth social integration of students with social, cultural, economic, or learning difficulties. The purpose of this research is to investigate and identify the reasons that reinforce the phenomenon of school dropout of Roma students. Specifically, it investigates the views of 10 current Primary School Principals, which Roma students also attend, through semi-structured interviews. The conclusion drawn is that the cultural-socioeconomic background of the Roma is a deterrent to their normal schooling.  Article visualizations

Κοινωνικοπολιτισμικά χαρακτηριστικά των εκδιδόμενων γυναικών, θεσμοί και πολιτικές διαχείρισης της πορνείας στην Αγγλία (περ. 1885-1914)

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει σκοπό να μελετήσει τα κοινωνικοπολιτισμικά χαρακτηριστικά που απέκτησε το φαινόμενο της γυναικείας πορνείας στην Αγγλία από το 1885 μέχρι το 1914, τους πολιτικούς και κοινωνικούς θεσμούς που επιχείρησαν να το ελέγξουν ή και να το αντιμετωπίσουν, το νομικό πλαίσιο που διαμορφώθηκε, καθώς και τη στάση του αστυνομικού σώματος απέναντί του. Η μελέτη αυτή της πορνείας και των εκδιδόμενων γυναικών βασίζεται στην εξέταση της κοινωνικής φυσιογνωμίας των ιδίων και των πελατών τους προκειμένου να διερευνηθούν οι κοινωνικές και οι οικονομικές συνθήκες που οδήγησαν μια γυναίκα στον αγοραίο έρωτα, καθώς και οι εμπειρίες που αποκόμιζε μέσω της εργασίας της. Συνεπώς, διερευνάται η κοινωνική προέλευση των πελατών τους, η κοινωνική αντιμετώπιση που έχαιραν οι πόρνες καθώς και οι κοινωνικές σχέσεις που συνήπταν και ο βαθμός της κοινωνικής τους ενσωμάτωσης. Το σημείο αυτό μελετάται και μέσω παραδειγμάτων γυναικών που συνελήφθησαν και δικάστηκαν άδικα ως πόρνες. Ο χαρακτηρισμός μιας γυναίκας ως πόρνης σχετίζεται και με τη σύγχυση που επικράτησε γύρω από τη χρήση του όρου και τη σύνδεση της πορνείας με την ανήθικη συμπεριφορά. Εν τέλει, φαίνεται ότι δεν υπάρχουν ούτε ένα αποκλειστικό μοτίβο εργασίας ούτε πανομοιότυπα βιώματα, παρά κοινές τάσεις και επιμέρους εκδοχές της πορνείας, οι οποίες επηρεάζονται από τα χαρακτηριστικά που λαμβάνει η εργασία της καθεμίας.This dissertation aims to examine the socio-cultural characteristics of female prostitution in England during the period 1885-1914, the institutions that were put in place to control and confront these phenomena, the relevant statutes that were implemented, and the stance of the police against prostitutes. In this context, this dissertation explores the social identity of the prostitutes and their clients, the social and economic aspects that allowed prostitution to flourish and fueled its existence and the experiences that prostitutes was subjected to. Thus, it is important to consider the social background of their clients, the way that the public treated these women, the relations that they developed with their social milieu and the tolerance or the intolerance that they were faced with. Examples of women unjustly arrested and prosecuted are given for the better understanding of this point. The arrest of innocent women was allowed as the definition of a prostitute remained uncertain and prostitution was generally linked to immoral behavior. In conclusion, it seems that there exist neither identical experiences, nor a sole pattern of prostitution, but certain tendencies that are shaped by the parameters of each prostitute’s situation

The Role of Nuclear Medicine in Imaging and Therapy of Neuroendocrine Tumors

Neuroendocrine tumors (NET’s) constitute a heterogeneous group of tumors characterized by the simultaneous expression of specific marker proteins and cell type-specific hormonal products. Metaiodobenzyluanidine (MIBG), labelled with 131I or 123I, and 111In-pentetreotide (Octreoscan) are the radiopharmaceuticals of choice in the current clinical practice. Positron emitting radiopharmaceuticals that are used in PET imaging are 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG), 18F-fluorodopamine (18F-DOPA), 11C-hydroxy-tryptophan (11C-HTP), and Gallium-68 (68Ga-DOTATATE or DOTATOC).  In diagnosis of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEPs) Octreoscan is the preferred imaging method because of its high sensitivity. 131Ι/123Ι-MIBG scintigraphy is useful to characterize and locate intra-adrenal (pheochromocytomas) and extra-adrenal paragangliomas. Octreoscan has also high accuracy for extra-adrenal paragangliomas. 18F-FDG-PET or PET/CT seems to be useful in detecting the pheochromocytomas and GEPs that fail to concentrate MIBG and Octreocan. 123I-MIBG scintigraphy combined with urine analysis of catecholamine metabolites is the most sensitive indicator of neuroblastoma. In diagnosis of small cell lung cancer and pituitary adenomas Octreoscan has a high sensitivity. On the contrary, in medullary thyroid cancer the sensitivity of Octreoscan and 131Ι/123Ι-MIBG is low but sensitivity of 18F-FDG PET or PET/CT and 68Ga-DOTATATE and DOTATOC PET or PET/CT seems to be higher.  With the introduction of 131I-MIBG and octreotide labelled with several radioisotopes, the field of treatment with radionuclides has been extended to a wide range of NETs. 111In-DTPA-Octreotide firstly was used in some clinical trials but recent advances in somatostatin analogues have paved the way to the development of octreotate, which can be labelled with both 177Lu and 90Y radionuclides

A plausible link between dynamically unsettled molecular gas and the radio jet in NGC 6328

We report the detection of outflowing molecular gas at the center of the nearby radio galaxy NGC6328 (z=0.014), which has a gigahertz-peaked spectrum radio core and a compact (2 pc) young double radio lobe tracing jet. Utilizing Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO(2-1) and CO(3-2) observations, as well as a novel code developed to fit the 3D gas distribution and kinematics, to study the molecular gas kinematics, we find that the bulk of the gas is situated within a highly warped disk structure, most likely the result of a past merger event. Our analysis further uncovers, within the inner regions of the gas distribution (R<300 pc) and at a position angle aligning with that of the radio jet (150 degrees), the existence of two anti-diametric molecular gas structures kinematically detached from the main disk. These structures most likely trace a jet-induced cold gas outflow with a total lower limit mass of $2\times 10^6\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$ mass, corresponding to an outflow rate of $2\,\mathrm{M_\odot\,yr^{-1}}$ and a kinetic power of $2.7\times 10^{40}\,\mathrm{erg\,s^{-1}}$. The energy required to maintain such a molecular outflow is aligned with the mechanical power of the jet.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, Accepted for publication in A

Sol-Gel Derived Mg-Based Ceramic Scaffolds Doped with Zinc or Copper Ions: Preliminary Results on Their Synthesis, Characterization, and Biocompatibility

Glass-ceramic scaffolds containing Mg have shown recently the potential to enhance the proliferation, differentiation, and biomineralization of stem cells in vitro, property that makes them promising candidates for dental tissue regeneration. An additional property of a scaffold aimed at dental tissue regeneration is to protect the regeneration process against oral bacteria penetration. In this respect, novel bioactive scaffolds containing Mg2+ and Cu2+ or Zn2+, ions known for their antimicrobial properties, were synthesized by the foam replica technique and tested regarding their bioactive response in SBF, mechanical properties, degradation, and porosity. Finally their ability to support the attachment and long-term proliferation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells (DPSCs) was also evaluated. The results showed that conversely to their bioactive response in SBF solution, Zn-doped scaffolds proved to respond adequately regarding their mechanical strength and to be efficient regarding their biological response, in comparison to Cu-doped scaffolds, which makes them promising candidates for targeted dental stem cell odontogenic differentiation and calcified dental tissue engineering

Psychosocial risk factors for impaired health‑related quality of life in living kidney donors: results from the ELIPSY prospective study

Living kidney donors' follow-up is usually focused on the assessment of the surgical and medical outcomes. Whilst the psychosocial follow-up is advocated in literature. It is still not entirely clear which exact psychosocial factors are related to a poor psychosocial outcome of donors. The aim of our study is to prospectively assess the donors' psychosocial risks factors to impaired health-related quality of life at 1-year post-donation and link their psychosocial profile before donation with their respective outcomes. The influence of the recipient's medical outcomes on their donor's psychosocial outcome was also examined. Sixty donors completed a battery of standardized psychometric instruments (quality of life, mental health, coping strategies, personality, socio-economic status), and ad hoc items regarding the donation process (e.g., motivations for donation, decision-making, risk assessment, and donor-recipient relationship). Donors' 1-year psychosocial follow-up was favorable and comparable with the general population. So far, cluster-analysis identified a subgroup of donors (28%) with a post-donation reduction of their health-related quality of life. This subgroup expressed comparatively to the rest, the need for more pre-donation information regarding surgery risks, and elevated fear of losing the recipient and commitment to stop their suffering

Methods on LDL particle isolation, characterization, and component fractionation for the development of novel specific oxidized LDL status markers for atherosclerotic disease risk assessment

The present study uses simple, innovative methods to isolate, characterize and fractionate LDL in its main components for the study of specific oxidations on them that characterize oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) status, as it causatively relates to atherosclerosis-associated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment. These methods are: (a) A simple, relatively time-short, low cost protocol for LDL isolation, to avoid shortcomings of the currently employed ultracentrifugation and affinity chromatography methodologies. (b) LDL purity verification by apoB100 SDS-PAGE analysis and by LDL particle size determination; the latter and its serum concentration are determined in the present study by a simple method more clinically feasible as marker of CVD risk assessment than nuclear magnetic resonance. (c) A protocol for LDL fractionation, for the first time, into its main protein/lipid components (apoB100, phospholipids, triglycerides, free cholesterol, and cholesteryl esters), as well as into LDL carotenoid/tocopherol content. (d) Protocols for the measurement, for the first time, of indicative specific LDL component oxidative modifications (cholesteryl ester-OOH, triglyceride-OOH, free cholesterol-OOH, phospholipid-OOH, apoB100-MDA, and apoB100-DiTyr) out of the many (known/unknown/under development) that collectively define oxLDL status, which contrasts with the current non-specific oxLDL status evaluation methods. The indicative oxLDL status markers, selected in the present study on the basis of expressing early oxidative stress-induced oxidative effects on LDL, are studied for the first time on patients with end stage kidney disease on maintenance hemodialysis, selected as an indicative model for atherosclerosis associated diseases. Isolating LDL and fractionating its protein and main lipid components, as well as its antioxidant arsenal comprised of carotenoids and tocopherols, paves the way for future studies to investigate all possible oxidative modifications responsible for turning LDL to oxLDL in association to their possible escaping from LDL’s internal antioxidant defense. This can lead to studies to identify those oxidative modifications of oxLDL (after their artificial generation on LDL), which are recognized by macrophages and convert them to foam cells, known to be responsible for the formation of atherosclerotic plaques that lead to the various CVDs

Tobacco endgame in the WHO European Region: Feasibility in light of current tobacco control status

INTRODUCTION To assess the feasibility of developing World Health Organization (WHO) European Region countries' goals and measures in line with tobacco endgame objectives, information on the current tobacco control context and capacity is needed. The aim of this study was to assess the implementation of measures in the region. METHODS In this cross-sectional study we used data from the WHO FCTC implementation reports and MPOWER from 2020 in 53 WHO European Region countries. Six domains (i.e. capacity, taxation and price policies, other national key regulations, public awareness raising and communication, tobacco use cessation, and monitoring) were formed. Subsequently, available indicators under these domains were scored and the level of implementation was computed for each country. Mann-Whitney tests were carried out to compare the scores between the group of countries with and without official endgame goals. RESULTS Overall, implementation of the WHO FCTC with the selected indicators at the country level ranged from 28% to 86%, and of MPOWER from 31% to 96%. Full implementation was achieved by 28% of WHO FCTC Parties in the region in taxation and price policies, 12% in public awareness raising and communication, CONCLUSIONS There is unequal implementation of both WHO FCTC and MPOWER measures among WHO European Region countries. MPOWER and WHO FCTC provide all the measures for the necessary first steps, followed by innovativ