Rockfall hazard and risk assessment: an example from a high promontory at the historical site of Monemvasia, Greece

The paper presents the kinematics of rock instability of a high limestone promontory, where the Monemvasia historical site is situated, in Peloponnese in Southern Greece. The instability phenomena poses a significant threat to the town located at the base of the slope. Rockfall episodes occurred in the past due to the relaxation of the high cliff, whereas significant undermining of the castle frontiers has been observed at the slope crest. <br><br> The predominant types of instability are of planar, wedge and toppling failure of medium to large blocks. In order to investigate the existing stability conditions and decide upon the protection measures, stability and rockfall analyses were carried out for numerous slope sections under different loading conditions and protection measures were suggested. <br><br> A rock-fall risk rating system is proposed, which is based on morphological and structural criteria of the rock mass and on vulnerability and consequences. The rating system is applied for individual sections along the slope and a risk map was produced, which depicted areas having different degree of risk against rockfall occurrences

Analysis of local seismic response in the historical city centre of Nafplio (Greece)

Local seismic response analysis represents a fundamental tool for assessing the seismic risk of urban areas and Cultural Heritage (CH) sites, nevertheless several open questions remain when complex geological contexts are considered. This study has been carried out in the framework of the research project STABLE (H2020 RISE-Marie Curie Action) which has the aim of evaluating the seismic action on CH sites in the Mediterranean basin. One of them being the city of Nafplio (Greece), a site characterised by a peculiar geological setting and a medium-high regional seismic hazard. Geological and geophysical data have been collected to reconstruct both the subsoil model and the seismotectonic conditions. Several seismic ambient noise measurements were carried out to establish the site resonance frequency and to validate engineering-geological cross-sections for numerical modelling of the seismic wave propagation. Combined engineering-geological, geophysical and numerical modelling allowed evaluating the local seismic response of the urban area of Nafplio, providing a zonation map with homogeneous seismic response zones for which elastic response spectra will be obtained

Personal values and involvement in problem behaviors among Bahamian early adolescents: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few studies, particularly in developing countries, have explored the relationship between adolescents and parental values with adolescent problem behaviors. The objectives of the study are to (1) describe adolescents' personal values, their problem behaviors, and the relationships thereof according to gender and (2) examine the relationship between parental values, adolescent values, and adolescents' problem behaviors among sixth-grade students and one of their parents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data used in these analyses were from the baseline assessment of a school-based HIV risk reduction intervention being conducted and evaluated among sixth grade students and one of their parents across 9 elementary schools in The Bahamas. Personal values were measured by the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ). Seven reported problem behaviors were queried from the students, which included physical fight with a friend, drank alcohol, beer, or wine, smoked a cigarette, pushed or carried any drugs, carried a gun, knife, screwdriver or cutlass to use as a weapon, had sex and used marijuana or other illicit drugs over the past 6 months. Multilevel modeling for binary data was performed to estimate the associations between adolescent and parental values and adolescent problem behaviors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among 785 students, 47% of the students reported at least one problem behavior. More boys (54%) reported having one or more problem behaviors than girls (41%, p < 0.01). Boys compared to girls expressed a higher level of self-enhancement (means score: 36.5 vs. 35.1; p = 0.03), while girls expressed a higher level of self-transcendence (42.3 vs. 40.7; p = 0.03). The results of multilevel modeling indicates that boys with a higher level of self-enhancement and girls with a higher level of openness to change and a lower level of conservation were more likely to report engagement in problem behaviors. Only two parental values (self-transcendence and conservation) were low or modestly correlated with youth' values (openness to change and self-enhancement). Parental-reported values documented limited association on adolescents' reported values and behaviors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In designing interventions for reducing adolescents' problem behaviors, it may be important to understand the values associated with specific problem behaviors. Further exploration regarding lack of association between adolescent and parental values and problem behaviors is needed.</p

Prevalence of HPV infection among Greek women attending a gynecological outpatient clinic

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a causative factor for cervical cancer. Early detection of high risk HPV types might help to identify women at high risk of cervical cancer. The aim of the present study was to examine the HPV prevalence and distribution in cervical smears in a sample of Greek women attending a gynecological outpatient clinic and to explore the determinants of the infection.Methods: A total of 225 women were studied. All women underwent a regular gynecological control. 35 HPV types were studied; 6, 11, 16, 18, 26, 31, 33, 35, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 and 89. Also, basic demographic information, sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behavior were recorded.Results: HPV was detected in 22.7% of the study population. The percentage of the newly diagnosed women with HPV infection was 17.3%. HPV-16 was the most common type detected (5.3%) followed by HPV-53 (4.9%). 66.2% of the study participants had a Pap test during the last year without any abnormalities. HPV infection was related positively with alcohol consumption (OR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.04-4.63, P = 0.04) and number of sexual partners (OR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.44-3.25, P < 0.001), and negatively with age (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87-0.99, P = 0.03), and monthly income (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44-0.89, P = 0.01).Conclusion: The prevalence of HPV in women attending an outpatient clinic is high. Number of sexual partners and alcohol consumption were the most significant risk factors for HPV infection, followed by young age and lower income

Hypericum sp.: essential oil composition and biological activities

Phytochemical composition of Hypericum genus has been investigated for many years. In the recent past, studies on the essential oils (EO) of this genus have been progressing and many of them have reported interesting biological activities. Variations in the EO composition of Hypericum species influenced by seasonal variation, geographic distribution, phenological cycle and type of the organ in which EO are produced and/or accumulated have also been reported. Although many reviews attributed to the characterization as well as biological activities of H. perforatum crude extracts have been published, no review has been published on the EO composition and biological activities of Hypericum species until recently (Crockett in Nat Prod Commun 5(9):1493–1506, 2010; Bertoli et al. in Global Sci Books 5:29–47, 2011). In this article, we summarize and update information regarding the composition and biological activities of Hypericum species EO. Based on experimental work carried out in our laboratory we also mention possible biotechnology approaches envisaging EO improvement of some species of the genus.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - project PTDC/AGR AAM/70418/2006, SFRH/BD/ 13283/2003

Faith and Fair Trade: The Moderating Role of Contextual Religious Salience

Normative and historical arguments support the idea that religion potentially shapes decisions to support fair trade products. That said, the question of how religion influences organizational decision-makers to purchase fair trade products in a business-to-business context has remained largely unaddressed. This research examines the interactive effect of individual religious commitment and contextual religious salience on an individual's willingness to pay a price premium for a fair trade product, when buying on behalf of an organization. Findings from two experimental studies (involving 75 and 87 working individuals, respectively) reveal that the effect of a decision-maker's religious commitment on his or her willingness to pay a price premium, for the purchase of a fair trade product on behalf of an organization, is moderated by the contextual salience of religion. Specifically, when religion is highly salient in the organizational context, religious commitment is positively related to the decision-maker's willingness to pay a premium for the fair trade product; when contextual religious salience is low, religious commitment and willingness to pay a premium are unrelated. Implications for theory and practice are presented. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

Misunderstandings Concerning Genetics Among Patients Confronting Genetic Disease

Critical questions arise about misunderstandings of genetics. We interviewed for 2 h each, 64 individuals who had or were at risk for Huntington's disease (HD), breast cancer or Alpha‐1 antitrypsin deficiency. These individuals revealed various misunderstandings that can affect coping, and testing, treatment and reproductive decisions. A therapeutic misconception about testing appeared: that testing would be helpful in and of itself. Many believed they could control genetic disorders (even HD), yet these beliefs were often incorrect, and could impede coping, testing, and treatment. Misunderstandings about statistics and genetics often fueled each other, and reflected denial, and desires for hope and control. Emotional needs can thus outweigh understandings of genetics and statistics, and providers’ input. Individuals often maintained non‐scientific beliefs, though embarrassed by these. These data have implications for care, and public and professional education. Misunderstandings’ persistence, despite realization of their inaccuracy, suggests that providers need to address not just cognitive facts, but underlying emotional issues

Daily Spiritual Experiences and Prosocial Behavior

Abstract This paper examines how the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) relates to range of prosocial behaviors, using a large, nationally representative U.S. data set. It finds that daily spiritual experiences are a statistically and substantively significant predictor of volunteering, charitable giving, and helping individuals one knows personally. Daily spiritual experiences better predict helping to distant others than to friends and family, indicating that they may motivate helping by fostering an extensive definition of one’s moral community. The relationship between the DSES and helping is not moderated by sympathy and is robust to the inclusion of most religiosity measures. However, the relationship becomes non-significant for most helping behaviors when measures of med-itation, prayer, and mindfulness are included in a regression equation. The DSES is par-ticularly effective in predicting helping behaviors among people who do not belong to a religious congregation, indicating that it may measure spiritual motivations for helping among people who are not conventionally religious