Social disadvantage and the role of physical education and sport-for-all in young people at Cyprus and Greece: discourse of social class, gender and race

Global austerity and prolonged recession have made social disadvantage prominent in young people’s lives, thus the call for the prevention and tackling of the phenomenon appears urgent (Dagkas, 2018). In particular, evidence suggests that Physical Education (PE) as well as Sport-for-All programmes (SfA) can have a life-changing impact on young people who experience social disadvantage (EU EDUHEALTH, 2017-2019; Dagkas and Hunter, 2015). Although investment in these two ‘sections’ of sport has been extensive, not all countries have access to them and at times, the desirable ‘life-changing’ impact does not emerge (WHO, 2013). This research study seeks to explore the views of young people living in Nicosia/Cyprus and Athens/Greece on PE and SfA programmes with the aim of addressing relevant issues linked to social disadvantage and particularly to social class, gender and ethnicity. It examines how such programmes change, shape, influence and impact upon young people’s social disadvantage. This cross-cultural, qualitative study follows a case-study research design complemented by ethnographic elements. Intersectionality is the research paradigm of the study and the theoretical framework that informs this study is rooted in the theories of Pierre Bourdieu, Judith Butler and Critical Race Theory. The qualitative data was collected from research work in two ‘disadvantaged’, secondary schools in Athens and Nicosia, by employing focus-group interviews with students, PE lesson observations, analysis of policy documents and the diary of the researcher. Thematic Analysis was the primary tool for data analysis. Findings indicate that: (a) young people interpret social disadvantage in multi-faceted ways; (b) the role of PE and SfA is positive, yet under certain circumstances; (c) effective PE and SfA programmes are suggested to be ‘for-all’, free-of-charge, complemented with modern and trendy activities delivered by appropriately-trained PE teachers

Counterfeit purchase typologies during an economic crisis

Purpose-The economic crisis has become a global phenomenon, although in Europe it mostly affected the Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe. In times of economic stress, counterfeit products increase their market share. In this context this paper aims to explore, and attempt to explain, consumer perspectives on the purchasing of counterfeit brands. Methodology-The study utilized an e-mail based open ended questionnaire as its data collection method. The research used a sample of 83 participants belonging to generation Y (younger and older) and upper medium and high income class brackets. Findings-Purchasing behaviour of counterfeit products during the economic crisis enabled us to identify four types of consumers. Furthermore, the results indicated that some consumers have significant interest in counterfeits while some consumers show apathy or indifference towards counterfeiting. Furthermore, some consumers believe that the government’s economic austerity policies cause high level consumption of counterfeits while others consider the authorities to be responsible for counterfeiting, since they do not adequately tackle it. Research limitations/implications- This research is exploratory in nature and restricted to Greek generation Y consumers. Suggestions are presented regarding future studies and generalization of the findings. Practical implications- Implementation of law, joint communication campaigns and social media usage are the major implications for the stakeholders in the marketplace. Originality/value-This study extends the body of knowledge of purchasing behavior on non-deceptive counterfeit products by offering empirical findings from Greece, a country facing a severe economic crisis. To our knowledge this is the first study that explores counterfeit buying behaviour during an economic crisis perio

Emittance reduction with variable bending magnet strengths: Analytical optics considerations and application to the Compact Linear Collider damping ring design

One of the main challenges of the lattice design of synchrotrons, used as light sources or damping rings (DRs), is the minimization of the emittance. The optimal lattice configurations for achieving the absolute minimum emittance are the theoretical minimum emittance (TME) cells. This paper elaborates the optimization strategy in order to further reduce the betatron emittance of a TME cell by using dipoles whose magnetic field varies longitudinally. Based on analytical results, the magnet design for the fabrication of variable bends with the optimal characteristics is discussed. In order to have a global understanding of all cell properties, an analytical approach for the theoretical minimum emittance (TME) cells with variable bends is elaborated. This approach is employed for the design optimization of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) DRs. The margin gained in the emittance including IBS based on this new design strategy enables the removal of a number of TME cells from the existing arcs while still keeping the requirements of the collider. The reduction of the circumference is further enhanced by the use of optimized high-field wigglers. The optimization strategy followed for the CLIC DRs is explained in detail and the output parameters of the new design are presented

Sparse Coding Predicts Optic Flow Specificities of Zebrafish Pretectal Neurons

Zebrafish pretectal neurons exhibit specificities for large-field optic flow patterns associated with rotatory or translatory body motion. We investigate the hypothesis that these specificities reflect the input statistics of natural optic flow. Realistic motion sequences were generated using computer graphics simulating self-motion in an underwater scene. Local retinal motion was estimated with a motion detector and encoded in four populations of directionally tuned retinal ganglion cells, represented as two signed input variables. This activity was then used as input into one of two learning networks: a sparse coding network (competitive learning) and backpropagation network (supervised learning). Both simulations develop specificities for optic flow which are comparable to those found in a neurophysiological study (Kubo et al. 2014), and relative frequencies of the various neuronal responses are best modeled by the sparse coding approach. We conclude that the optic flow neurons in the zebrafish pretectum do reflect the optic flow statistics. The predicted vectorial receptive fields show typical optic flow fields but also "Gabor" and dipole-shaped patterns that likely reflect difference fields needed for reconstruction by linear superposition.Comment: Published Conference Paper from ICANN 2018, Rhode

Colored Non-Crossing Euclidean Steiner Forest

Given a set of $k$-colored points in the plane, we consider the problem of finding $k$ trees such that each tree connects all points of one color class, no two trees cross, and the total edge length of the trees is minimized. For $k=1$, this is the well-known Euclidean Steiner tree problem. For general $k$, a $k\rho$-approximation algorithm is known, where $\rho \le 1.21$ is the Steiner ratio. We present a PTAS for $k=2$, a $(5/3+\varepsilon)$-approximation algorithm for $k=3$, and two approximation algorithms for general~$k$, with ratios $O(\sqrt n \log k)$ and $k+\varepsilon$

Citalopram-mediated anxiolysis and differing neurobiological responses in both sexes of a genetic model of depression

Disorders such as depression and anxiety exhibit strong sex differences in their prevalence and incidence, with women also differing from men in their response to antidepressants. Furthermore, receptors for corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRHR1) and arginine vasopressin receptor subtype 1b (AVPR1b) are known to contribute to the regulation of mood and anxiety. In the present study, we compared the anxiety profile and CRHR1 and AVPR1b expression levels in control Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats and rats of the SD-derived Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL), a genetic model of depression. Additionally, given the apparent sex differences in the therapeutic efficacy of antidepressants and because antidepressants are commonly used to treat comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms, we assessed whether the anxiolytic effects of an antidepressant occur in a sex-dependent manner. Male and female FSL rats were treated with citalopram 10 mg/kg once daily for 14 days and were then tested in the open field and the elevated plus maze paradigms. Upon completion of the behavioural analysis, AVPR1b and CRHR1 expression levels were monitored in the hypothalamus and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) using Western blotting. According to our results, male FSL rats were more anxious than control SD rats, a difference abolished by citalopram treatment. Baseline anxiety levels were similar in female FSL and SD rats, and citalopram further reduced anxiety in female FSL rats. Importantly, whereas citalopram altered AVPR1b expression in the hypothalamus of male FSL rats, its actions on this parameter were restricted to the PFC in female FSL rats. In both sexes of FSL rats, citalopram did not alter CRHR1 expression in either the hypothalamus or PFC. Our results demonstrate that antidepressant treatment reduces anxiety levels in FSL rats of both sexes: the magnitude of treatment effect was related to the starting baseline level of anxiety and the antidepressant elicited sexually differentiated neurobiological responses in specific brain regions.This research was partly supported through a German-Greek Academic Exchange Programme (DAAD-IKYDA: D/04/42259), an IBRO studentship to N.K., and a Max Planck Society fellowship to I.S

Intracellular delivery of full length recombinant human mitochondrial L-Sco2 protein into the mitochondria of permanent cell lines and SCO2 deficient patient's primary cells

AbstractMutations in human SCO2 gene, encoding the mitochondrial inner membrane Sco2 protein, have been found to be responsible for fatal infantile cardioencephalomyopathy and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency. One potentially fruitful therapeutic approach for this mitochondrial disorder should be considered the production of human recombinant full length L-Sco2 protein and its deliberate transduction into the mitochondria. Recombinant L-Sco2 protein, fused with TAT, a Protein Transduction Domain (PTD), was produced in bacteria and purified from inclusion bodies (IBs). Following solubilisation with l-arginine, this fusion L-Sco2 protein was transduced in cultured mammalian cells of different origin (U-87 MG, T24, K-562, and patient's primary fibroblasts) and assessed for stability, transduction into mitochondria, processing and impact on recovery of COX activity. Our results indicate that: a) l-Arg solution was effective in solubilising recombinant fusion L-Sco2 protein, derived from IBs; b) fusion L-Sco2 protein was delivered successfully via a time- and concentration-dependent process into the mitochondria of human U-87 MG and T24 cells; c) fusion L-Sco2 protein was also transduced in human K-562 cells, transiently depleted of SCO2 transcripts and thus COX deficient; transduction of this fusion protein led to partial recovery of COX activity in such cells; d) [35S]Methionine-labelled fusion L-Sco2 protein, produced in a cell free transcription/translation system and incubated with intact isolated mitochondria derived from K-562 cells, was efficiently processed to yield the corresponding mature Sco2 protein, thus justifying the potential of the transduced fusion L-Sco2 protein to successfully activate COX holoenzyme; and finally, e) recombinant fusion L-Sco2 protein was successfully transduced into the mitochondria of primary fibroblasts derived from SCO2/COX deficient patient and facilitated recovery of COX activity. These findings provide the rationale of delivering recombinant proteins via PTD technology as a model for therapeutic approach of mitochondrial disorders