Antigonos Gonatas : coinage, money and the economy

'Antigonos Gonatas: Coinage, Money and the Economy' is a presentation and systematic analysis of the precious metal coinages in the name of `king Antigonos'. Most of these issues, including (a) gold staters and silver tetradrachms with the types of Alexander III and (b) silver with individual Antigonid types (tetradrachms, `Pans' and 'Poseidons'; a few drachmae, `Pans' and 'Zeus'; pentobols, `Zeus'), are traditionally assigned to the Makedonian king Antigonos Gonatas (r. 283/277-239 BC). However, their relative chronology and their respective presence in hoards allow for their wider distribution from Gonatas to his later homonym, Antigonos Doson, and for their production at a single mint, demonstrating thus a strong sense of dynastic continuity among Gonatas' successors(chapter 2). It is argued that the numismatic iconography aligns itself with the main threads of the Antigonid international policy established by Gonatas: the Antigonids, following the example of the Temenids, deliberately emphasised their Hellenic identity and piety, in order to become assimilated to the military and political `debates' both in mainland Greece and on an international level. The introduction, in particular, of the second Antigonid tetradrachm type, the Poseidon-head, meant the resumption of the naval claims of Monophthalmos and Poliorketes in the Aegean concomitantly to Gonatas' victorious naval battle against the Ptolemaic fleet at Andros (chapters 2.1,2.4). The analysis of the numismatic material (chapters 3-6) is a prerequisite for a tentative estimation of its approximate quantity and for a better assessment of its distribution pattern. The disproportion between the low annual production rate of these issues and the Antigonid financial requirements may be explained by the use of other precious metal coinages following the Attic weight standard (chapter 7). It is therefore argued that the exercise by the Antigonids of pro-active economic and administrative control was limited and that the introduction of the Antigonid individual issues was inspired by political alongside economic forces

Bioethical Quandaries during the Period of a Pandemic

The period of the pandemic gave rise to multiple and intractable bioethical quandaries arising In the context of the present study we will limit ourselves to the examination of the critical issues of mandatory vaccination to manage the pandemic compulsory medical testing including temperature screening of the population the use of experimental drugs making the wearing of face masks mandatory and the individual responsibility of each of us for the prevention of the pandemic Participation stresses the importance of education in bioethics Accordingly it supports the notion that once we win the fight for life and health constitutional lawyers ought to take the reins and determine that the character of restrictive measures and healthcare policies adopted in periods of crisis when a prime opportunity for their formulation presented itself because of the pandemic is one of extraordinarines

Circulating cell-free DNA in breast cancer: searching for hidden information towards precision medicine

Breast cancer (BC) is a leading cause of death between women. Mortality is significantly raised due to drug resistance and metastasis, while personalized treatment options are obstructed by the limitations of conventional biopsy follow-up. Lately, research is focusing on circulating biomarkers as minimally invasive choices for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitoring. Circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) is a promising liquid biopsy biomaterial of great potential as it is thought to mirror the tumor's lifespan; however, its clinical exploitation is burdened mainly by gaps in knowledge of its biology and specific characteristics. The current review aims to gather latest findings about the nature of ccfDNA and its multiple molecular and biological characteristics in breast cancer, covering basic and translational research and giving insights about its validity in a clinical setting

Social media reveals consistently disproportionate tourism pressure on a threatened marine vertebrate

Establishing how wildlife viewing pressure is distributed across individual animals within a population can inform the management of this activity, and ensure targeted individuals or groups are sufficiently protected. Here, we used social media data to quantify whether tourism pressure varies in a loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta population and elucidate the potential implications. Laganas Bay (Zakynthos, Greece) supports both breeding (migratory, and hence transient) and foraging (resident) turtles, with turtle viewing representing a major component of the tourism industry. Social media entries spanning two seasons (April to November, 2018 and 2019) were evaluated, and turtles were identified via photo-identification. For the 2 years, 1684 and 2105 entries of 139 and 122 unique turtles were obtained from viewings, respectively (boats and underwater combined). However, while residents represented less than one-third of uniquely identified turtles, they represented 81.9 and 87.9% of all entries. Even when the seasonal breeding population was present (May to July), residents represented more than 60% of entries. Notably, the same small number of residents (<10), mostly males, were consistently viewed in both years; however, different individuals were targeted by boats versus underwater. Thus, turtles appear to remain in the area despite high viewing intensity, possibly indicating low disturbance. However, photo-identification records revealed a high risk of propeller and boat strike to residents (30%) leading to trauma and mortality. To reduce this threat, we recommend the compulsory use of propeller guards for all boats, compliance with speed regulations and the creation of temporary ‘refuge’ zones for resident animals at viewing hotspots, with these suggestions likely being relevant for other wildlife with similar population dynamics. In conclusion, social media represents a useful tool for monitoring individuals at a population scale, evaluating the pressure under which they are placed, and providing sufficient data to refine wildlife viewing guidelines and/or zoning. © 2020 The Authors. Animal Conservation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Zoological Society of Londo

Legal and ethical considerations regarding the use of ChatGPT in education

Artificial intelligence has evolved enormously over the last two decades, becoming mainstream in different scientific domains including education, where so far, it is mainly utilized to enhance administrative and intelligent tutoring systems services and academic support. ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot, developed by OpenAI and released in November 2022, has rapidly gained attention from the entire international community for its impressive performance in generating comprehensive, systematic, and informative human-like responses to user input through natural language processing. Inevitably, it has also rapidly posed several challenges, opportunities, and potential issues and concerns raised regarding its use across various scientific disciplines. This paper aims to discuss the legal and ethical implications arising from this new technology, identify potential use cases, and enrich our understanding of Generative AI, such as ChatGPT, and its capabilities in education.Comment: Accepted at the 1st International Conference of the Network of Learning and Teaching Centers in Greece: Transforming Higher Education Teaching Practic