Mining engineers, industrial modernisation and politics in Greece, 1870-1940

The engineers who studied in Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and who returned to Greece to work have been seen as bearers of scientific knowledge and the modernising effort. Actually, they were active historical agents contributing with their multiple scientific activities to the process of appropriation of science and technology and industrial modernisation in the specific historical environment. This article aims, through the study of a particular professional group of engineers, the mining engineers, to demonstrate the interaction between scientific and technical professional activities and participation in political and social affairs. For these mining engineers, the technical efficiency and economic growth that industrialisation would bring could not be dissociated from social order and a hierarchical form of social organisation. At the same time, the formation of their professional group, as well as the social organisation that they envisioned, were rooted in gendered and class relations of power

The Institutional Framework for Work in the Mines of Greece: Occupational Health and Safety and the case of Lead Poisoning (1861-1940)

The paper investigates the historical formation of the institutional framework for work in the mines, regarding occupational health and safety. In a second level, the article focusses on the medical discourse in Greece about the specific occupational disease of lead poisoning and the role played by the state, mining companies and doctors in the recognition of the disease. In the formation of this framework and the regulations gender has played an important role. The definition of lead poisoning as an occupational disease given to the miners by specialist doctors was a political issue, which was determined in historical terms. Doctors used their scientific knowledge not only as a tool for the political economy of health, but also as a mean to combat the social question by reforms and total intervention in everyday life, work and leisure of the miners. In the case of the recognition of lead poisoning, a cultural confrontation which characterized the conflict between the educated middle class and the working class in Greece, since the end of 19th century, is apparent. The sources used are mainly the legislation, state reports by the Inspectorate of Mines and medical reports.El artículo investiga la formación histórica del marco institucional para el trabajo en las minas en Grecia, con respecto a la salud y seguridad ocupacional. En un segundo nivel, el artículo se centra en el discurso médico en Grecia sobre la enfermedad profesional específica del envenenamiento por plomo y el papel jugado por el Estado, las empresas mineras y los médicos en el reconocimiento de la enfermedad.La definición de la intoxicación por plomo como enfermedad profesional dada a los mineros por médicos especialistas fue una cuestión política, que se determinó en términos históricos. Los médicos utilizaron su conocimiento científico no sólo como herramienta para la economía política de la salud, sino también como medio para combatir la cuestión social mediante reformas e intervención total en la vida cotidiana, el trabajo y el ocio de los mineros. En el caso del reconocimiento del envenenamiento por plomo, se evidencia una confrontación cultural que caracterizó el conflicto entre la clase media culta y la clase obrera en Grecia, desde finales del siglo XIX.Las fuentes utilizadas son principalmente la legislación, informes estatales de la Inspección de Minas e informes médicos

Mining engineers, industrial modernisation and politics in Greece, 1870-1940

The engineers who studied in Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and who returned to Greece to work have been seen as bearers of scientific knowledge and the modernising effort. Actually, they were active historical agents contributing with their multiple scientific activities to the process of appropriation of science and technology and industrial modernisation in the specific historical environment. This article aims, through the study of a particular professional group of engineers, the mining engineers, to demonstrate the interaction between scientific and technical professional activities and participation in political and social affairs. For these mining engineers, the technical efficiency and economic growth that industrialisation would bring could not be dissociated from social order and a hierarchical form of social organisation. At the same time, the formation of their professional group, as well as the social organisation that they envisioned, were rooted in gendered and class relations of power

Introduction: Des économies familiales adaptatives en temps de crise dans l’Europe méditerranéenne

L’analyse des causes et des effets des crises économiques, un thème classique de l’histoire économique, a été généralement abordée à travers une perspective macro-analytique. Que ce soit dans l’étude des crises financières que dans celle des crises de subsistance d’ancien régime, la réflexion sur les causes macroéconomiques a eu la part belle parmi les contemporains tout comme parmi les économistes et les historiens.1 En parallèle, les effets des crises ont également attiré le regard des protagonistes et par la suite des chercheurs en sciences sociales, sociologues et économistes mais aussi anthropologues et historiens

Application of adipose-derived stromal cells in fat grafting: Basic science and literature review

Autologous fat is considered the ideal material for soft‑tissue augmentation in plastic and reconstructive surgery. The primary drawback of autologous fat grafting is the high resorption rate. The isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue inevitably led to research focusing on the study of combined transplantation of autologous fat and adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) and introduced the theory of ʻcell‑assisted lipotransferʼ. Transplantation of ADSCs is a promising strategy, due to the high proliferative capacity of stem cells, their potential to induce paracrine signalling and ability to differentiate into adipocytes and vascular cells. The current study examined the literature for clinical and experimental studies on cell‑assisted lipotransfer to assess the efficacy of this novel technique when compared with traditional fat grafting. A total of 30 studies were included in the present review. The current study demonstrates that cell‑assisted lipotransfer has improved efficacy compared with conventional fat grafting. Despite relatively positive outcomes, further investigation is required to establish a consensus in cell‑assisted lipotransfer

Interactions between Schwann and olfactory ensheathing cells with a starch/polycaprolactone scaffold aimed at spinal cord injury repair

Spinal cord injury (SCI) represents a major world health problem. Therefore it is urgent to develop novel strategies that can specifically target it. We have previously shown that the implantation of starch-based scaffolds (SPCL) aimed for spine stabilization on SCI animals leads to motor skills improvements. Therefore, we hypothesize that the combination of these scaffolds with relevant cell populations for SCI repair will, most likely, lead to further improvements. Therefore, in this work, the ability of SPCL scaffolds to support the 3D culture of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) and Schwann cells (SCs) was studied and characterized. The results demonstrate for the first time that SPCL scaffolds were able to support the growth and migration of OECs and SCs. Moreover, the results indicate that two weeks of in vitro culture is the ideal time to reach a high number of transplantable cells. Future work will focus on the spine stabilization of SCI animals using SPCL scaffolds loaded with OECs or SCs for SCI regeneration.Foundation Calouste de GulbenkianPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/40684/2007

Home-Based Work and Home-Based Workers (1800-2021)

Home-Based Work and Home-Based Workers (1800-2021) is about the past and present of home-based work and homebased workers between 1800 and 2021 from a global perspective.; Readership: All interested in social and economic history, and especially in the past and present of home-based work and homebased workers

Co-transplantation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-derived Neural Progenitors and Schwann Cells in a Rat Spinal Cord Contusion Injury Model Elicits a Distinct Neurogenesis and Functional Recovery

Co-transplantation of neural progenitors (NPs) with Schwann cells (SCs) might be a way to overcome low rate of neuronal differentiation of NPs following transplantation in spinal cord injury (SCI) and the improvement of locomotor recovery. In this study, we initially generated NPs from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and investigated their potential for neuronal differentiation and functional recovery when co-cultured with SCs in vitro and co-transplanted in a rat acute model of contused SCI. Co-cultivation results revealed that the presence of SCs provided a consistent status for hESC-NPs and recharged their neural differentiation toward a predominantly neuronal fate. Following transplantation, a significant functional recovery was observed in all engrafted groups (NPs, SCs, NPs+SCs) relative to the vehicle and control groups. We also observed that animals receiving co-transplants established a better state as assessed with the BBB functional test. Immunohistofluorescence evaluation five weeks after transplantation showed invigorated neuronal differentiation and limited proliferation in the co-transplanted group when compared to the individual hESC-NPs grafted group. These findings have demonstrated that the co-transplantation of SCs with hESC-NPs could offer a synergistic effect, promoting neuronal differentiation and functional recovery