From digital creations of space to analogous experiences of places :living in second life and acting in Flash Mob

PhD ThesisThis dissertation aims to raise the question of how individuals and groups become placed – or take up place – in the contemporary environment and to consider what forms the need for situatedness takes today, by examining the phenomena of the Flash Mob and Second Life. In a Flash Mob, an email activates a virtual community and converts it into a physical performance in the city, challenging a new cognition of place, where place is constituted by the event. On the other hand, Second Life takes the form of a digitally constructed world, which opens the possibility of a “virtual place” that enables users to establish connections not only with each other, but also with the [virtual] environment itself. The two case studies together question place in its materiality and its symbolism, and it is argued that they act as media to re-code “groundedness”. Thus we reach a paradoxical conclusion: although the contemporary world suggests a dynamic and more flexible existence on the earth, the need for “situatedness” and the demand for “well-grounded claims” remain stronger than ever. The structure of this research reflects a double set of conditions that, although not new, have intensified due to the emergence of new technologies: first, the expansion of the human body beyond its corporeal limits and second, the augmentation of the perceived world beyond the mere materiality of any kind of environment. Therefore the thesis studies how, on the one hand, bodies, communities and crowds transform within digitisation, and, on the other, how the world develops as a consequence of the digital reconstruction of grounds. It examines the way in which individuals detach from their “real-world groundedness” by forming bonds-connections to these digitised grounds, which display – as generators of endless possibilities – a kind of utopian openendedness. Finally, it explores the phenomenon of “virtualisation” to raise the question of whether the contemporary world is infused by information and thus augmented in terms of meanings, connections, and attachments, or is instead made of a series of projections, transforming reality into an idealised version of itself.Panayiotis Triantafillidis Foundation,The Greek Ministry of Education: Newcastle University

Monsters and Machines: The avatar performance as the carnivalesque of the digital age

The depiction of the body has never been merely a composition of an image, but it always carried with it a series of meanings and connections. Two or three-dimensional, in painting or in cinema or in virtual worlds, moving or static, the body has always been the place where the material world meets the conceptual world and other ‘virtual’ realities, and where physicality meets the subject’s ideas, fears, hopes and desires. The aim of this essay is to examine the construction of the avatar body as the ‘new monstrous’ of the digital age, to read the avatar performance in the context of Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the carnivalesque and it raises the question as to what it is to feel at ‘home’ within digitisation. The digital age is marked by a series of juxtapositions: on the one hand we augment the human body through electronic devices in order to respond to hybrid environments and, on the other hand, we create digital spaces in which we interact via our representatives – our avatars. These theoretical displacements from physical to virtual and from body to mind – theoretical because during both the construction of the avatar and the experience of cyberspace there is always a physical body attached to the subject – call us to rethink issues of matter and corporeality, and to question the body’s place in the world anew. If, within the emergence of new technologies, ‘we are all cyborgs’ (Haraway, 1991a: 150), then the human body becomes a technobiological object, a hybrid construction of wo/man and machine, and a powerful promising image of new subjectivity. Against a static and coherent understanding of the body but also a pre-given and fixed world, cyborgs open up into prosthetic extensions and digital connections, as well as to multiple digital and physical profiles that project realities and future imaginaries. They do so in order to create hybrid assemblages of organisms and machines and to establish links with others and with their environment. These contemporary monsters, as swarms of machines and connections and similarly to the monsters of the past, challenge the ‘natural’ to suggest new, as Haraway puts it, ‘possible worlds’ (1991b: 22). Extending this line of study, this essay examines the construction of the avatar body as the ‘new monstrous’ of the digital age and attempts a reading of avatar performance in the context of Bakhtin’s concept of the carnivalesque. By arguing that the body is radically dispersed within the context of digitisation, it raises the question as to what it is to feel at ‘home’

Effect of prosocial public health messages for population behaviour change in relation to respiratory infections: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic represents a major societal challenge that requires large-scale behaviour change, widespread collective action and cooperation to reduce viral transmission. Existing literature indicates that several messaging approaches may be effective, including emphasising the benefits to the recipient, aligning with the recipient's moral values and focusing on protecting others. Current research suggests that prosocial public health messages that highlight behaviours linked to societal benefits (eg, protecting 'each other'), rather than focusing on behaviours that protect oneself (eg, protecting 'yourself'), may be a more effective method for communicating strategies related to infectious disease. To investigate this we will conduct a systematic review that will identify what messages and behaviour change techniques have the potential to optimise the effect on population behaviour in relation to reducing transmission of respiratory infections. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic literature search of published and unpublished studies (including grey literature) in electronic databases will be conducted to identify those that meet our inclusion criteria. The search will be run in four electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Scopus. We will also conduct supplementary searches in databases of 'grey' literature such as PsycEXTRA, Social Science Research Network and OSF PREPRINTS, and use the Google Scholar search engine. A systematic approach to searching, screening, reviewing and data extraction will be applied based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Titles, abstracts and full texts for eligibility will be examined independently by researchers. The quality of the included studies will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies-of Interventions tool. Disagreements will be resolved by a consensus procedure. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol has been registered with PROSPERO. No ethical approval is required, as there will be no collection of primary data. The synthesised findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020198874

Effect of prosocial public health messages for population behaviour change in relation to respiratory infections: a systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic represents a major societal challenge that requires large-scale behaviour change, widespread collective action and cooperation to reduce viral transmission. Existing literature indicates that several messaging approaches may be effective, including emphasising the benefits to the recipient, aligning with the recipient's moral values and focusing on protecting others. Current research suggests that prosocial public health messages that highlight behaviours linked to societal benefits (eg, protecting 'each other'), rather than focusing on behaviours that protect oneself (eg, protecting 'yourself'), may be a more effective method for communicating strategies related to infectious disease. To investigate this we will conduct a systematic review that will identify what messages and behaviour change techniques have the potential to optimise the effect on population behaviour in relation to reducing transmission of respiratory infections. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic literature search of published and unpublished studies (including grey literature) in electronic databases will be conducted to identify those that meet our inclusion criteria. The search will be run in four electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Scopus. We will also conduct supplementary searches in databases of 'grey' literature such as PsycEXTRA, Social Science Research Network and OSF PREPRINTS, and use the Google Scholar search engine. A systematic approach to searching, screening, reviewing and data extraction will be applied based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Titles, abstracts and full texts for eligibility will be examined independently by researchers. The quality of the included studies will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies-of Interventions tool. Disagreements will be resolved by a consensus procedure. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol has been registered with PROSPERO. No ethical approval is required, as there will be no collection of primary data. The synthesised findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020198874

A comparison of seasonal influenza and novel Covid-19 vaccine intentions : a cross-sectional survey of vaccine hesitant adults in England during the 2020 pandemic

We compared intention to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine with a prospective coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine among undecided or COVID-19 vaccine hesitant individuals to better understand the underlying differences and similarities in factors associated with vaccine intention. We delivered a cross-sectional online survey in October–November 2020. We included psychological constructs and sociodemographic variables informed by theory. We conducted pairwise comparisons and multiple linear regression models to explore associations between vaccine intention and psychological constructs. We recruited 1,660 participants, where 47.6% responded that they would likely receive the influenza vaccine, 31.0% that they would probably not accept the vaccination and 21.4% were unsure. In relation to the prospective COVID-19 vaccine, 39.0% responded that they would likely receive the vaccination, 23.7% that they would probably not accept the vaccination and 37.3% were unsure. Unique factors positively associated with COVID-19 vaccine intention were: perceived knowledge sufficiency about vaccine safety, beliefs about vaccine safety, and living in an area of low deprivation. The only unique factor positively associated with influenza intention was past influenza behavior. The strongest common predictors positively associated with intention were: favorable vaccine attitudes, the anticipated regret they may feel following infection if they were not to receive a vaccine, and the expectation from family or friends to accept the vaccine. Despite overall similarities in those factors associated with vaccination intention, we identified unique influences on intention. This additional insight will help support the planning and tailoring of future immunizations programmes for the respective viruses

Effect of the Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in the Human Immune System

BACKGROUND: The pandemic by the novel H1N1 virus has created the need to study any probable effects of that infection in the immune system of the host. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Blood was sampled within the first two days of the presentation of signs of infection from 10 healthy volunteers; from 18 cases of flu-like syndrome; and from 31 cases of infection by H1N1 confirmed by reverse RT-PCR. Absolute counts of subtypes of monocytes and of lymphocytes were determined after staining with monoclonal antibodies and analysis by flow cytometry. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from patients and stimulated with various bacterial stimuli. Concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-18, interferon (FN)-alpha and of IFN-gamma were estimated in supernatants by an enzyme immunoassay. Infection by H1N1 was accompanied by an increase of monocytes. PBMCs of patients evoked strong cytokine production after stimulation with most of bacterial stimuli. Defective cytokine responses were shown in response to stimulation with phytohemagglutin and with heat-killed Streptococcus pneumoniae. Adaptive immune responses of H1N1-infected patients were characterized by decreases of CD4-lymphocytes and of B-lymphocytes and by increase of T-regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Infection by the H1N1 virus is accompanied by a characteristic impairment of the innate immune responses characterized by defective cytokine responses to S.pneumoniae. Alterations of the adaptive immune responses are predominated by increase of Tregs. These findings signify a predisposition for pneumococcal infections after infection by H1N1 influenza

Detrimental effect of apoptosis of lymphocytes at an early time point of experimental abdominal sepsis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Apoptosis of lymphocytes is considered a late sequelum in the sepsis cascade. The role of apoptosis of lymphocytes as a driver of final outcome was investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Abdominal sepsis was induced after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in 31 rabbits. Blood was sampled at serial time intervals and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated. Apoptosis of lymphocytes and monocytes was measured through flow cytometric analysis. PBMCs were stimulated with LPS and Pam3Cys for the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα). Tissue bacterial growth was quantitatively measured. In a second set of experiments, CLP was performed in another 40 rabbits; 20 received single intravenous infusions of ciprofloxacin and of metronidazole 4 hours after surgery.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Animals were divided into two groups based on the percentage of lymphocyte apoptosis at 4 hours after surgery; less than or equal to 32% and more than 32%. Survival of the former was shorter than the latter (p: 0.017). Tissue growth was similar between groups. Apoptosis of lymphocytes and of monocytes was lower in the former group over follow-up. Release of ΤNFα did not differ. The above findings on survival were repeated in the second set of experiments. Administration of antimicrobials prolonged survival of the former group (p: 0.039) but not of the latter group (pNS).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Lymphocyte apoptosis at an early time point of experimental peritonitis is a major driver for death. A lower percentage of apoptosis leads earlier to death. Antimicrobials were beneficial even at that disease state.</p

Correction to: Two years later: Is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still having an impact on emergency surgery? An international cross-sectional survey among WSES members

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey, a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on patient flow through emergency rooms, daily routine and decision making in ES as well as their changes over time during the last two pandemic years. This second WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey investigates the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on ES during the course of the pandemic. Methods: A web survey had been distributed to medical specialists in ES during a four-week period from January 2022, investigating the impact of the pandemic on patients and septic diseases both requiring ES, structural problems due to the pandemic and time-to-intervention in ES routine. Results: 367 collaborators from 59 countries responded to the survey. The majority indicated that the pandemic still significantly impacts on treatment and outcome of surgical emergency patients (83.1% and 78.5%, respectively). As reasons, the collaborators reported decreased case load in ES (44.7%), but patients presenting with more prolonged and severe diseases, especially concerning perforated appendicitis (62.1%) and diverticulitis (57.5%). Otherwise, approximately 50% of the participants still observe a delay in time-to-intervention in ES compared with the situation before the pandemic. Relevant causes leading to enlarged time-to-intervention in ES during the pandemic are persistent problems with in-hospital logistics, lacks in medical staff as well as operating room and intensive care capacities during the pandemic. This leads not only to the need for triage or transferring of ES patients to other hospitals, reported by 64.0% and 48.8% of the collaborators, respectively, but also to paradigm shifts in treatment modalities to non-operative approaches reported by 67.3% of the participants, especially in uncomplicated appendicitis, cholecystitis and multiple-recurrent diverticulitis. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still significantly impacts on care and outcome of patients in ES. Well-known problems with in-hospital logistics are not sufficiently resolved by now; however, medical staff shortages and reduced capacities have been dramatically aggravated over last two pandemic years

The Online Presence of Golden Dawn and the Athenian Subjectivities It Brings Forward

The aim of this essay is to look at the strategic use of the World Wide Web by Golden Dawn in order to create affect, emotion, and personalised perspectives and therefore to promote their explicitly fascist political ideas. Videos of low resolution seem to have a very powerful reality effect upon their viewers, placing them at the centre of the action: from videos carefully presented as if they were filmed by amateurs, to rough, unedited televised spectacles and to noisy, impromptu scenes that could happen to anyone. The  essay will critically reflect on the use of new technologies in the creation of “situatedness” and “situated knowledges” and it will examine the worlds that such stories bring forward, and which are often obscured by the mass media: the world of the immigrant who is chased by Golden Dawn; the world of the refugee, whose presence in the country is often opposed; the world of the Golden Dawn supporter, who is made to believe that the immigrant and the refugee are responsible for the country’s recession. This essay argues that the worlds of temporary citizens come forward by their very exclusion from such prejudiced perspectives and asks: what could make a cosmopolitical form of citizenship