Socrates and Leisure

In the so-called Socratic dialogues, Socrates introduces the need for σχολή or leisure as the precondition that is necessary for the philosopher to pursue his task. He also makes ideal use of it, contrary to what seems to have been the popular image of the idle philosopher. Thus, a desideratum for academic life was built, on the grounds that philosophers have to reciprocate the gift of leisure by benefiting the whole of community; besides, the idea of intellectual labour was also introduced to balance any negative feelings created in the demos against the luxurious leisure of philosophers and their schools. Philosophical leisure and its conditions could well be an issue in modern academic ethics

THE INCIDENCE OF THE INFRAPATELLAR PLICAE IN THE ELDERLY WELSH POPULATION

There are several studies reporting the incidence of suprapatellar, medial and lateral plicae, but there is very limited information regarding the incidence of the infrapatellar plica. The purpose of our study was to record the incidence of the infrapatelar plicae in the elderly Welsh population suffering of knee osteoarthritis. A prospective study was performed and 90 knees with severe osteoarthritis of the knee joint (Kellgren-Lawrence type III and IV) were investigated during total knee arthroplasty surgery.  Documentation was performed at every total knee replacement surgery for the length of the study. Knee replacement was performed by one senior surgeon. Infrapatellar plica was investigated by a medial parapatellar approach and was classified into five types according to Kim’s classification. The overall incidence of the infrapatellar plicae was 37.7%. The most common type of plicae was the separate type (23.3 %). There was no significant difference found between male and female patients. The fenestra type was the least common (2.22%). The incidence of infrapatellar plicae in the elderly Welsh population suffering of knee osteoarthritis was significantly lower when compared to a study that recorded the incidence of infrapatellar plica in young patients. Possibly, the degenerative changes of the knee joint can cause the reabsorption of the infrapatellar plica decreasing by this way its incidence in the elderly population.Key words: infrapatellar plicae, incidence, knee osteoarthritis, elderl

Development of New Materials for Applications in Liquid Crystal Technologies and Biofuel Production

This work encompasses three distinct materials chemistries: solid support catalysts for biodiesel production, synthesis of molecular based liquid crystals for improved applications in liquid crystal display technologies, and mesoscopic behavior of high aspect ratio nanoscale metal-organic framework particles. The production of biodiesel from waste biomass by the traditional two-step acid/base sequence is a costly and inefficient process. Solid supported acid catalysts were fabricated to reduce the free fatty acid content in waste greases in a process not requiring intensive and costly neutralization and aqueous workups. A high free fatty acid to methyl ester conversion was obtained for a variety of diarylammonium salts that served as homogeneous acid catalysts. The diarylamine was functionalized with appropriate moieties to enable incorporation into mesoporous silicas MCM-48 and SBA-15 as well as a more hydrophobic porous organic polymer. The efficacy of these heterogeneous acid catalysts was tested with greases containing up to 40 wt free fatty acid and found to have greater than 98 percent conversions. When combined with solid base catalysts, we were able to produce biodiesel in 99 percent yield from a high free fatty-acid containing feedstock. Several 2,5-disubstituted oxadiazole based bent-core molecules were synthesized to explore new potential structures for biaxial nematic liquid crystals at room temperature. Structure-function behaviors dictated the thermal behaviors of these molecules measured using heat-stage facilitated optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Lower melting mesogens were judiciously chosen for exploration by sophisticated variable temperature 2H-NMR experiments. Lastly, Onsager predicted that anisotropic shapes could stabilize liquid crystalline behaviors. High aspect ratio metal-organic framework nanorods were synthesized and subsequently surface functionalized to minimize electrostatic and steric interparticle interactions. These particles were shown to self-assemble into nematic-like textures when subjected certain physical restraints on the macroscopic level. The ordered behavior was revealed through polarized luminescence studies dependent on the particles non-cubic crystalline space group

High signal to noise ratio THz spectroscopy with ASOPS and signal processing schemes for mapping and controlling molecular and bulk relaxation processes

Asynchronous Optical Sampling has the potential to improve signal to noise ratio in THz transient sperctrometry. The design of an inexpensive control scheme for synchronising two femtosecond pulse frequency comb generators at an offset frequency of 20 kHz is discussed. The suitability of a range of signal processing schemes adopted from the Systems Identification and Control Theory community for further processing recorded THz transients in the time and frequency domain are outlined. Finally, possibilities for femtosecond pulse shaping using genetic algorithms are mentioned

Synthesis, Structure, and Antiproliferative Activity of Three Gallium(III) Azole Complexes

As part of our interest into the bioinorganic chemistry of gallium, gallium(III) complexes of the azole ligands 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (btd), 1,2,3-benzotriazole (btaH), and 1-methyl-4,5-diphenylimidazole (L) have been isolated. Reaction of btaH or btd with GaBr3 or GaCl3 resulted in the mononuclear complexes [GaBr3(btaH)2] (1) and [GaCl3(btd)2] (2), respectively, while treatment of GaCl3 with L resulted in the anionic complex (LH)2[GaCl4] (3). All three complexes were characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography and IR spectroscopy, while their antiproliferative activities were investigated against a series of human and mouse cancer cell lines

Σύνθεση υλικών με την μέθοδο της αυτοπροοθούμενης καύσης

139 σ.Σύνθεση υλικών με την μέθοδο της αυτοπροοθούμενης καύσηςΛεωνίδας Α. Ζαφειρόπουλο

Peripheral monocytes from diabetic patients with coronary artery disease display increased bFGF and VEGF mRNA expression

BACKGROUND: Macrophages can produce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in response to hypoxia, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1), angiotensin II, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and interleukin-1. These factors have been found in the serum of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients as well as in atherosclerotic lesions. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the expression of VEGF, TGF-β1 and bFGF in peripheral monocytes and lymphocytes is related to CAD. METHODS: Human Mononuclear cells and lymphocytes from peripheral blood were isolated from 53 donors undergoing angiography. Seventeen were found to be healthy and 36 were diagnosed with CAD. The respective mRNAs were extracted and quantified. RESULTS: The statistical analysis revealed a significant increase of the basal level expression for macrophage VEGF and bFGF in the CAD SA (stable angina) patient group compared to the noCAD (control) (p = 0.041 and p = 0.022 respectively) and CAD UA (unstable angina) (p = 0.024 and p = 0.005 respectively) groups, which was highly dependent on the diabetic status of the population. Furthermore, we demonstrated with an in vitro cell culture model that the levels of VEGF and bFGF in monocytes of healthy donors are not affected by short term exposure to increased glucose levels (usually observed in the diabetic patients) and/or statin. CONCLUSION: Our findings display a statistically significant association of the increased VEGF and bFGF levels in peripheral monocytes, with stable angina and diabetes in coronary artery disease. The results give new insight to CAD and the impaired collateral vessel formation in diabetics

Tooth-implant connection with fixed partial dentures in partially edentulous arches. A retrospective cohort study over an 11.8 year observation period

The fixed tooth-implant connection remains a controversial issue. This private practice-based retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of a contemporary fixed partial denture (FPD) design for connecting natural teeth and implants (TI-F

Project of an advanced ISOL facility for exotic beams at LNL

Abstract In the framework of the European program to define a second generation Radioactive Ion Beam facility, LNL are proposing the construction in the next five–seven years of a specialized national facility for RIB originated by fission fragments produced by secondary neutrons. It consists on a two-accelerator ISOL-type facility to provide intense neutron-rich radioactive ion beams of highest quality, in the range of masses between 80 and 160. The conceptual design is based on a high intensity 50 MeV (100 kW) proton linac as driver and on the availability of the heavy-ion accelerator ALPI as post accelerator. The estimated neutron yield is 2×1014 n/s at 0°, high enough to satisfy the demand for an advanced RIB facility. An intense R&D program on different items is actually in progress in collaboration with other Laboratories and University groups and is moving in a European context