A study of the development, characteristics and uses of open public spaces in Athens from 1940 to 2000.

This thesis is a study of the development of Open Public Spaces of Athens, during the period 1940 - 2000. At the end of the 20th Century, Athens and its Open Public Spaces present many problems concerning the city's environment, which have been accumulated over the past 60 years and have been aggravated due to unplanned expansions of the city and some unsuccessful interventions, by the State. However, there are still many possibilities towards the amelioration of the city's and Public Spaces' conditions, especially through the large Public works which are necessary for the future. In the Introduction, following the definition of some terms, some general issues related to Open Public Spaces are mentioned, such as functions, cultural activities, Character of the Open Public Space, as well as specific problems of the Athenian Open Public Spaces as insufficiency, street Furniture equipment, the Rôle of the State etc. Moreover, there is a search for the Theoretical Approach and Methodology of the project, by the brief review of theories concerning Society and Public Space, and the development of Historiography. The methodology proposed for this project is derived from the conclusions of the above search. In Chapter 2, there is a brief review of the development of Athens' Open Public Spaces and urbanization, as most of today's Open Public Spaces originate from their first formation during the 19th and the first half of the 20th Century. In Chapter 3, Athenian Open Public Spaces are examined in relation to the political situation, spirit of the times, social structure and City's development of each one of the eight critical sub-periods to which the whole period under examination in this project, i.e. 1940-2000 is subdivided, according to specific political, economic and cultural factors and characteristics of each one. Special attention has been paid to the presentation of large Public works and Open Public Spaces which will be executed in the near future and will contribute to the city's life. In Chapter 4, three case studies are presented, concerning three significant Athenian Open Public Spaces Syntagma Square, Omonia Square and Pireos Street. In these case studies each Public Space is examined more in depth and detail, in relation to its: Structural and Functional dimension (e.g. Its location in the urban structure, relationships with the Urban environment, functions, circulation etc). Semantic dimension (e.g. Significance and meaning to the city, historic development etc). Structure of the Space (e.g. Topography, shape, elements, Street furniture equipment etc). In Chapter 5, an Assessment of the Athenian Open Public Spaces is attempted in relation to various issues, such as, the significance and the role of the Open Public Spaces in the city, the use and life of the Athenian Open Public Spaces, their allocation social role, forms materials used, street furniture equipment. Other issues examined are, the monuments, green areas, the role of the State through the legislative Context, the character of Athenian Open Public Spaces as it has developed. Chapter 5, concludes with a brief comparison between European and Athenian Open Public Spaces, the final Conclusions and Recommendations. Finally in the Appendices, the European Union's directives concerning Architect's expected role in shaping the city's environment and Landscape. Institute's educational policy is mentioned, as well as examples of Open Public Spaces formations by the Municipality of Athens and by the Ministry of Environment, Regional Planning and Public Works are presented

Ideas of space from Isaac Newton to Etienne-Louis Boullee

This paper aims to prove that a fertile dialogue between architectural history and the history of ideas can open interesting perspectives for the understanding of the process of design. This dialogue, offering a reconstruction of the different mental contexts of each historical period, could prove to be essential for grasping the true meaning of design outcomes that belong to the same era. As a specific case-study, the present paper investigates the cultural interactions and the conceptual correspondences between the scientific spirit of the Enlightenment, philosophy and the architectural utopian projects of Étienne-Louis Boullée, based on the examination of various ideas of space. It is argued that after the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century and the major works of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the notion of space assumed an increasingly important role in the philosophical and architectural discourses of the Enlightenment. In this context, a general outline of the possible affinities and divergences between those distinct domains of eighteenth-century knowledge is traced, through the analysis of various interpretations of natural and urban space from Isaac Newton and Voltaire to Étienne-Louis Boullée. This analysis is a preliminary attempt to [link] the complex relations between the Humanities and the natural sciences in their Modern genealogical interdependences and tensions. Moreover, it can form the conditions for a better understanding of the intellectual environment that constitutes the meaningful ground of Boullée’s design intentions.Η παρούσα μελέτη στοχεύει να αποδείξει πως ένας γόνιμος διάλογος ανάμεσα στην ιστορία της αρχιτεκτονικής και την ιστορία των ιδεών μπορεί να διανοίξει ενδιαφέρουσες προοπτικές για την κατανόηση της διαδικασίας του σχεδιασμού. Αυτός ο διάλογος, καθώς προσφέρει μία ανασυγκρότηση των διαφορετικών νοητικών πλαισίων κάθε ιστορικής περιόδου, θα μπορούσε να αποδειχθεί ουσιώδης για την σύλληψη του αληθινού νοήματος των σχεδιαστικών αποτελεσμάτων που ανήκουν σε αυτήν. Ως μία συγκεκριμένη μελέτη περίπτωσης, το παρόν άρθρο εξετάζει τις πολιτισμικές αλληλεπιδράσεις και τις εννοιολογικές ανταποκρίσεις ανάμεσα στο επιστημονικό πνεύμα του Διαφωτισμού, την φιλοσοφία και τα αρχιτεκτονικά ουτοπικά σχέδια του Étienne-Louis Boullée, βασιζόμενο στην διερεύνηση διαφόρων ιδεών του χώρου. Υποστηρίζεται πώς μετά την Επιστημονική Επανάσταση του 17ου αιώνα και τα μείζονα έργα του Isaac Newton και του Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, η έννοια του χώρου απέκτησε έναν ολοένα και πιο σημαντικό ρόλο στους φιλοσοφικούς και αρχιτεκτονικούς λόγους του Διαφωτισμού. Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, σκιαγραφείται ένα γενικό περίγραμμα των πιθανών συγγενειών και αποκλίσεων ανάμεσα σε αυτές τις διακριτές περιοχές γνώσης του 18ου αιώνα, μέσα από την ανάλυση ποικίλων ερμηνειών του φυσικού και του αστικού χώρου από τον Isaac Newton και τον Βολταίρο έως τον Étienne-Louis Boullée. Αυτή η ανάλυση αποτελεί μία προκαταρκτική απόπειρα στοχασμού των πολύπλοκων σχέσεων ανάμεσα στις επιστήμες του ανθρώπου και τις φυσικές επιστήμες στις Νεωτερικές γενεαλογικές αλληλεπιδράσεις και εντάσεις τους. Επιπλέον, μπορεί να διαμορφώσει τις συνθήκες για μία καλύτερη κατανόηση του πνευματικού περιβάλλοντος που συγκροτεί το νοηματικό θεμέλιο των σχεδιαστικών προθέσεων του Boullée

Einfluss der Primer Agitationszeit auf die Schmelzadhäsion von Kompositen

The aim of this study ist to analyse the influence of the primer agitation time on the enamel adhesion of composites. Therefor a four-step and a three-step system were used with two different hybrid composites.Ziel dieser Arbeit ist festzustellen ob die Agitationszeit von Primer auf Dentin einen Einfluss auf die Schmelzadhäsion von Kompositen hat. Dazu wurden je ein Vier-Schritt- und ein Drei-Schritt-System im Total-Etch-Verfahren mit zwei verschiedenen Hybridkompositen verwendet

The standardised copy of pentagons test

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The 'double-diamond copy' task is a simple paper and pencil test part of the Bender-Gestalt Test and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Although it is a widely used test, its method of scoring is crude and its psychometric properties are not adequately known. The aim of the present study was to develop a sensitive and reliable method of administration and scoring.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study sample included 93 normal control subjects (53 women and 40 men) aged 35.87 ± 12.62 and 127 patients suffering from schizophrenia (54 women and 73 men) aged 34.07 ± 9.83.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The scoring method was based on the frequencies of responses of healthy controls and proved to be relatively reliable with Cronbach's α equal to 0.61, test-retest correlation coefficient equal to 0.41 and inter-rater reliability equal to 0.52. The factor analysis produced two indices and six subscales of the Standardised Copy of Pentagons Test (SCPT). The total score as well as most of the individual items and subscales distinguished between controls and patients. The discriminant function correctly classified 63.44% of controls and 75.59% of patients.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The SCPT seems to be a satisfactory, reliable and valid instrument, which is easy to administer, suitable for use in non-organic psychiatric patients and demands minimal time. Further research is necessary to test its psychometric properties and its usefulness and applications as a neuropsychological test.</p

A standardized scoring method for the copy of cube test, developed to be suitable for use in psychiatric populations

BACKGROUND: Although the 'copy of cube test', a version of which is included in the Short Test of Mental Status (STMS), has existed for years, little has been done to standardize it in detail. The aim of the current study was to develop a novel and detailed standardized method of administration and scoring this test. METHODS: The study sample included 93 healthy control subjects (53 women and 40 men) aged 35.87 ± 12.62 and 127 patients suffering from schizophrenia (54 women and 73 men) aged 34.07 ± 9.83 years. The psychometric assessment included the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). RESULTS: A scoring method was developed based on the frequencies of responses of healthy controls. Cronbach's α was equal to 0.75 and inter-rater reliability was 0.90. Three indices and five subscales of the Standardized Copy of the Cube Test (SCCT) were eventually developed. They included the Deficit Index (DcI), which includes the Missing Elements (ME) Mirror Image (M) subscales, the Deformation Index (DfI) which includes the Deformation (D) and the Rotation (R) subscales and the Closing-In Index (CiI). DISCUSSION: The SCCT seems to be a reliable, valid and sensitive to change instrument for the testing of psychiatric patients. The great advantage of this instrument is the fact that it only requires paper and a pencil, and is this easily administered and brief. Further research is necessary to test its usefulness as a neuropsychological test

Profiling of infection specific mRNA transcripts of the European seabass Dicentrarchus labrax

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The European seabass (<it>Dicentrarchus labrax</it>), one of the most extensively cultured species in European aquaculture productions, is, along with the gilthead sea bream (<it>Sparus aurata</it>), a prospective model species for the Perciformes which includes several other commercially important species. Massive mortalities may be caused by bacterial or viral infections in intensive aquaculture production. Revealing transcripts involved in immune response and studying their relative expression enhances the understanding of the immune response mechanism and consequently also the creation of vaccines. The analysis of expressed sequence tags (EST) is an efficient and easy approach for gene discovery, comparative genomics and for examining gene expression in specific tissues in a qualitative and quantitative way.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we describe the construction, analysis and comparison of a total of ten cDNA libraries, six from different tissues infected with <it>V. anguillarum </it>(liver, spleen, head kidney, gill, peritoneal exudates and intestine) and four cDNA libraries from different tissues infected with Nodavirus (liver, spleen, head kidney and brain). In total 9605 sequences representing 3075 (32%) unique sequences (set of sequences obtained after clustering) were obtained and analysed. Among the sequences several immune-related proteins were identified for the first time in the order of Perciformes as well as in Teleostei.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study provides new information to the Gene Index of seabass. It gives a unigene set that will make a significant contribution to functional genomic studies and to studies of differential gene expression in relation to the immune system. In addition some of the potentially interesting genes identified by <it>in silico </it>analysis and confirmed by real-time PCR are putative biomarkers for bacterial and viral infections in fish.</p