Establishment of computational biology in Greece and Cyprus: Past, present, and future.

We review the establishment of computational biology in Greece and Cyprus from its inception to date and issue recommendations for future development. We compare output to other countries of similar geography, economy, and size—based on publication counts recorded in the literature—and predict future growth based on those counts as well as national priority areas. Our analysis may be pertinent to wider national or regional communities with challenges and opportunities emerging from the rapid expansion of the field and related industries. Our recommendations suggest a 2-fold growth margin for the 2 countries, as a realistic expectation for further expansion of the field and the development of a credible roadmap of national priorities, both in terms of research and infrastructure funding

Reliability and validity of the adapted Greek version of scoliosis research society – 22 (SRS-22) questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The SRS-22 is a valid instrument for the assessment of the health related quality of life of patients with Idiopathic scoliosis. The SRS-22 questionnaire was developed in USA and has been widely used in the English speaking countries. Recently it has been translated and validated in many other languages. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the adapted Greek version of the refined Scoliosis Research Society-22 Questionnaire.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Following the steps of cross – cultural adaptation the adapted Greek version of the SRS-22 questionnaire and a validated Greek version of the SF-36 questionnaire were mailed to 68 patients treated surgically for Idiopathic Scoliosis. 51 out of the 68 patients returned the 1^stset of questionnaires, while a second set was emailed to 30 randomly selected patients of the first time responders. 20 out of the 30 patients returned the 2^ndset. The mean age at the time of operation was16,2 years and the mean age at the time of evaluation was 21,2 years. Descriptive statistics for content analysis were calculated. Reliability assessment was determined by estimating Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) respectively. Concurrent validity was evaluated by comparing SRS-22 domains with relevant domains in the SF-36 questionnaire using Pearson's Correlation Coefficient (r).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The calculated Cronbach's α of internal consistency for three of the corresponding domains (pain 0.85; mental health 0.87; self image 0.83) were very satisfactory and for two domains (function/activity 0.72 and satisfaction 0.67) were good. The ICC of all domains of SRS-22 questionnaire was high (ICC>0.70), demonstrating very satisfactory or excellent test/retest reproducibility. Considering concurrent validity all correlations were found to be statistically significant at the 0.01 level among related domains and generally demonstrated high correlation coefficient.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The adapted Greek version of the SRS-22 questionnaire is valid and reliable and can be used for the assessment of the outcome of the treatment of the Greek speaking patients with idiopathic scoliosis.</p

CHOReOS perspective on the Future Internet and initial conceptual model (D1.2)

The D1.2 deliverable outlines the CHOReOS perspective on the Future Internet and its conceptualization. In particular, the deliverable focuses on: - Definition of the Future Internet and related Future Internet of Services and (Smart) Things, as considered within CHOReOS, further stressing the many dimensions underpinning the Ultra-Large Scale of the Future Internet; - Definition of the initial conceptual model of the CHOReOS Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) for the Future Internet, identifying the impact of the ULS dimensions upon the traditional SOA paradigms and associated infrastructure

Empirical extension of a classification framework for addressing consistency in model based development

Context: Consistency constitutes an important aspect in practical realization of modeling ideas in the process of software development and in the related research which is diverse. A classification framework has been developed, in order to aid the model based software construction by categorizing research problems related to consistency. However, the framework does not include information on the importance of classification elements. Objective: The aim was to extend the classification framework with information about the relative importance of the elements constituting the classification. The research question was how to express and obtain this information. Method: A survey was conducted on a sample of 24 stakeholders from academia and industry, with different roles, who answered a quantitative questionnaire. Specifically, the respondents prioritized perspectives and issues using an extended hierarchical voting scheme based on the hundred dollar test. The numerical data obtained were first weighted and normalized and then they were analyzed by descriptive statistics and bar charts. Results: The detailed analysis of the data revealed the relative importance of consistency perspectives and issues under different views, allowing for the desired extension of the classification framework with empirical information. The most highly valued issues come from the pragmatics perspective. These issues are the most important for tool builders and practitioners from industry, while for the responders from academia theory group some issues from the concepts perspective are equally important. Conclusion: The method of using empirical data from a hierarchical cumulative voting scheme for extending existing research classification framework is useful for including information regarding the importance of the classification elements

STUDY AND CONSTRUCTION OF OPTIMAL BLOCK DESIGNS

THE OPTIMAL EXPERIMENTAL BLOCK DESIGNS FOR COMPARING TEST TREATMENTS WITH A CONTROL HAVE BEEN STUDIED, IN EXTEND FOR THE CASE OF EQUAL BLOCK SIZES. IN THE PRESENT TREATISE THE CASE OF UNEQUAL BLOCK SIZES IS STUDIED. FIRST, THE CLASS OF BALANCED TREATMENT INCOMPLETE UNEQUAL BLOCK (BTIUB) DESIGNS IS DEFINED AND SOME OF ITS PROPERTIES ARE STUDIED. THEN A SERIES OF CONSTRUCTION METHODS IS GIVEN. BY THE AID OF THESE METHODS AND USING KNOWN BIB OR GD DESIGNS, MATRICES WHICH CONTAIN HIGHLY A EFFICIENT BTIUB DESIGNS WERE CONSTUCTED. NEXT, THE COMPLETELY RANDOMIZED MODEL WITH COVARIATES IN THE CASE OF COMPARING TEST TREATMENTS WITH A CONTROL, IS STUDIED. CHARACTERISTIC THEOREMS ARE ALSO PROVED AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS ARE GIVEN, FOR THE GENERALIZED BINARY PROPER EFFICIENCY BALANCED BLOCK DESIGNS, WITH TWO DIFFERENT REPLICATION NUMBERS. THE EXISTENCE OF THOSE DESIGNS WAS AN OPEN PROBLEM.ΟΙ ΒΕΛΤΙΣΤΟΙ ΠΕΙΡΑΜΑΤΙΚΟΙ ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟΙ ΓΙΑ ΤΗ ΣΥΓΚΡΙΣΗ ΠΕΙΡΑΜΑΤΙΚΩΝ ΑΓΩΓΩΝ ΜΕ ΜΙΑΑΓΩΓΗ ΕΛΕΓΧΟΥ ΕΧΟΥΝ ΜΕΛΕΤΗΘΕΙ ΕΚΤΕΤΑΜΕΝΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΠΕΡΙΠΤΩΣΗ ΠΟΥ ΟΛΕΣ ΟΙ ΟΜΑΔΕΣ ΕΧΟΥΝ ΤΟ ΙΔΙΟ ΜΕΓΕΘΟΣ. ΣΤΗΝ ΠΑΡΟΥΣΑ ΔΙΑΤΡΙΒΗ, Η ΜΕΛΕΤΗ ΕΠΕΚΤΕΙΝΕΤΑΙ ΓΙΑ ΟΜΑΔΕΣ ΜΕ ΑΝΙΣΑ ΜΕΓΕΘΗ. ΟΡΙΖΕΤΑΙ ΠΡΩΤΑ Η ΚΛΑΣΗ ΑΥΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΩΝ, ΠΟΥ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΝΑΦΕΡΟΥΜΕ ΩΣ BTIUB ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟΥΣ, ΚΑΙ ΜΕΛΕΤΩΝΤΑΙ ΟΡΙΣΜΕΝΕΣ ΑΠΟ ΤΙΣ ΙΔΙΟΤΗΤΕΣ ΤΟΥΣ. ΣΤΗ ΣΥΝΕΧΕΙΑ ΔΙΝΕΤΑΙ ΜΙΑ ΣΕΙΡΑ ΜΕΘΟΔΩΝ ΜΕ ΤΙΣ ΟΠΟΙΕΣ ΚΑΤΑΣΚΕΥΑΣΤΗΚΑΝ ΠΙΝΑΚΕΣ BTIUB ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΩΝ, ΧΡΗΣΙΜΟΠΟΙΩΝΤΑΣ ΓΝΩΣΤΟΥΣ BIB Η GD ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟΥΣ, ΟΙ ΟΠΟΙΟΙ ΔΙΝΟΥΝΥΨΗΛΑ ΑΠΟΔΟΤΙΚΟΥΣ ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΟΥΣ. ΑΚΟΜΗ ΜΕΛΕΤΑΤΑΙ ΤΟ ΠΛΗΡΩΣ ΤΥΧΑΙΟΠΟΙΗΜΕΝΟ ΓΡΑΜΜΙΚΟ ΜΟΝΤΕΛΛΟ ΜΕ ΣΥΜΜΕΤΑΒΛΗΤΕΣ, ΟΤΑΝ ΜΑΣ ΕΝΔΙΑΦΕΡΕΙ Η ΣΥΓΚΡΙΣΗ ΠΕΙΡΑΜΑΤΙΚΩΝ ΑΓΩΓΩΝ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΑΓΩΓΗ ΕΛΕΓΧΟΥ. ΤΕΛΟΣ ΔΙΝΟΝΤΑΙ ΘΕΩΡΗΜΑΤΑ ΧΑΡΑΚΤΗΡΙΣΜΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΘΟΔΟΙ ΚΑΤΑΣΚΕΥΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΓΕΝΙΚΕΥΜΕΝΑ ΔΥΑΔΙΚΩΝ, ΟΡΘΩΝ, ΜΕ ΔΥΟ ΔΙΑΦΟΡΕΤΙΚΟΥΣ ΕΠΑΝΑΛΗΠΤΙΚΟΥΣ ΑΡΙΘΜΟΥΣ ΙΣΟΡΡΟΠΗΜΕΝΩΝ ΩΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΗΝ ΑΠΟΔΟΤΙΚΟΤΗΤΑ ΣΧΕΔΙΑΣΜΩΝ, ΤΩΝ ΟΠΟΙΩΝ Η ΥΠΑΡΞΗ ΑΠΟΤΕΛΟΥΣΕ ΑΝΟΙΧΤΟ ΠΡΟΒΛΗΜΑ