Performing identity: the case of the (Greek) Cypriot National Guard

Students of International Relations are taught that the modern nation-state has a monopoly on the (legitimate) use of violence. However, in the case of the Republic of Cyprus this does not seem to be the case, since its armed forces, the Cypriot National Guard (CNG), are intimately embedded within Greece’s military structure, and half the island remains under Turkish occupation. The colonization of Cyprus (1571–1960) and subsequent decolonization has led to the gradual construction of two rigid identities, Greek and Turkish, that have been institutionalized legally and imposed constitutionally. This paper seeks to answer two questions. First, how does the CNG perform and therefore constitute a ‘Greek identity’? Second, is this performance epistemically violent, hindering the formation of hybrid identities? We use autoethnography, interviews, and insights from Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the habitus and Judith Butler’s performativity theory to explore these two questions. We argue that the CNG performs a Greek identity in three key configurations: 1) the operational link between the Greek Army and the CNG; 2) the explicit connection to both ancient and modern Greece through various CNG insignia and practices, including parades and marching songs; and 3) the entrenchment of the Greek Orthodox Church within its practices

Cognitive and emotional empathy in individuals at clinical high risk of psychosis

Background Impairments of social cognition are considered core features of schizophrenia and are established predictors of social functioning. However, affective aspects of social cognition including empathy have far less been studied than its cognitive dimensions. The role of empathy in the development of schizophrenia remains largely elusive. Methods Emotional and cognitive empathy were investigated in large sample of 120 individuals at Clinical High Risk of Psychosis (CHR-P) and compared with 50 patients with schizophrenia and 50 healthy controls. A behavioral empathy assessment, the Multifaceted Empathy Test, was implemented, and associations of empathy with cognition, social functioning, and symptoms were determined. Results Our findings demonstrated significant reductions of emotional empathy in individuals at CHR-P, while cognitive empathy appeared intact. Only individuals with schizophrenia showed significantly reduced scores of cognitive empathy compared to healthy controls and individuals at CHR-P. Individuals at CHR-P were characterized by significantly lower scores of emotional empathy and unspecific arousal for both positive and negative affective valences compared to matched healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia. Results also indicated a correlation of lower scores of emotional empathy and arousal with higher scores of prodromal symptoms. Conclusion Findings suggest that the tendency to 'feel with' an interaction partner is reduced in individuals at CHR-P. Altered emotional reactivity may represent an additional, early vulnerability marker, even if cognitive mentalizing is grossly unimpaired in the prodromal stage. Different mechanisms might contribute to reductions of cognitive and emotional empathy in different stages of non-affective psychotic disorders and should be further explored

The compressibility of the Jovian magnetosphere

The effect of the solar activity on a magnetosphere, as an external driver, can be studied via the compressibility index; this index is calculated via changes in the magnetopause due to variations in the external pressure and quantifies the overall response of the magnetosphere. The system size, composition and morphology of the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn make them ideal targets for such studies. We report on a numerical study of the compressibility of the Jovian magnetosphere, using an implementation of Caudal’s iterative scheme to create an axisymmetric magnetodisc structure. We create an ensemble of models, treated as virtual observations or “crossings”, using a different system size (parametrized by the magnetopause distance) and hot plasma content (parametrized by the hot plasma index) for each case. We evaluate different methods to obtain the compressibility index and discuss the effects of the system size, compare the results with observations of the Jovian magnetosphere and with similar studies focused on the magnetosphere of Saturn. Furthermore, as a complementary step, we implement Pontius’ algorithm to update the plasma angular velocity using the equatorial magnetodisc structure in a consistent way and examine the major differences with a simple dipole model

Modelling magnetic fields and plasma flows in the magnetosphere of Jupiter

The magnetic fields of the giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, deviate significantly from a pure magnetic dipole and the cold plasma is mostly centrifugally confined near the equator. The additional contribution of the azimuthal currents leads to the stretching of the magnetic field and the formation of a characteristic, disc-type structure known as a magnetodisc. We present here an updated version of a numerical implementation of Caudal's iterative scheme, used to create models of the magnetosphere. In particular, we include newer equatorial density, temperature and hot plasma profiles obtained from Galileo data. Finally, we describe and use an algorithm to update the angular velocity profile after the end of the iterative process, using information from the magnetodisc. We also present comparisons between the azimuthal current and plasma flow predicted by our model and those derived from spacecraft observations

The compressibility of the Jovian magnetosphere

The magnetospheres of giant planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn, are a unique type of space laboratories for magnetized plasma. Their rapid rotation, composition and size result in major differences compared to the terrestrial magnetosphere, the most prominent being the presence of a disc-type magnetic structure. Each magnetosphere responds to external or internal drivers; the most important external driver is the solar activity. The response of the magnetosphere is quantified by the ompressibility index, calculated from the magnetopause radius as a function of the total pressure. We present results of a numerical study of the compressibility of the Jovian magnetosphere, using first an numerical implementation of Caudal’s iterative scheme to create an axisymmetric magnetodisc structure. A large ensemble of models is produced and treated as virtual observations (or “crossings”). The models are created using a different system size (parametrized by the magnetopause distance) and hot plasma content (parametrized by the hot plasma index) for each case. We evaluate methods of different order to obtain the compressibility index and discuss the effects of the system size. We compare the results with observations of the Jovian magnetosphere and with similar studies focused on the magnetosphere of Saturn. A complementary step of our work is the implementation of an angular velocity correction algorithm (Pontius scheme), using the equatorial magnetodisc structure in a consistent way and examine the major differences with a simple dipole model

Relationship between disk position and degenerative bone changes in temporomandibular joints of young subjects with TMD. An MRI study

This study determines the frequency and relationship between disk position and degenerative bone changes in temporomandibular joints in children and adolescent patients with internal derangement. Study design: TMJ, MRI of 88 patients were analyzed (average age: 14.7 years-old, range age: 10-18 years-old), female n=65 (73.9%) and male n=23 (26.1%). Images obtained were used to determine the frequency of disk position, joint effusion (JE) and degenerative bone changes (OA). Images were assessed by a calibrated radiologist (Kappa=0.82). Results: No significant association was found between disk displacement with reduction and degenerative bone changes (Chi2=9.894; OR= 0.375; p=0.0017), nor disk without displacement (Chi2=9.448; OR= 0.223; p=0.0021). A significant association was found between disk displacement without reduction and degenerative bone changes (Chi2=30.951; OR=6.304; p=0.0001). Conclusions: There is a significant association between disk displacement without reduction and degenerative bone changes (p=0.0001) in children and adolescent patients with TMD

Pytheas: An open-source software solution for local shear-wave splitting studies

Shear-wave splitting analysis of local earthquakes is a challenge tackled by a long history of published software. However, there is currently no complete solution that integrates manual and (partially or fully) automatic methods. The Pytheas software aims to achieve this by offering a collection of popular analysis techniques accompanied by an intuitive Graphical User Interface. The software offers its own implementation of the following methods: (a) Visual inspection of polarigrams and hodograms (manual), (b) Rotation-Correlation (semi-automatic), (c) Eigenvalue (semi-automatic) and (d) Minimum Energy (semi-automatic). Moreover, it automates the last three operations by using Cluster Analysis. The software also utilizes databases to effectively manage results storing. It is compatible with standard file formats for event and station metadata (QuakeML and StationXML), as well as waveform data (such as SAC and miniSEED). Pytheas also introduces a novel algorithm for automatically assigning quality grades to measurements. To showcase the utility of the software, we analyzed a set of 263 events recorded in the Western Gulf of Corinth (Greece). The workflow included the establishment of a control group through manual analysis, the fully automatic processing of the catalogue and the verification of the results through visual inspection of a sample. Automatic and manual measurements show good agreement, validating the potential of Cluster Analysis. The presented software aims to provide a friendly experience to the end-user in all stages of its usage (installation, operation and database management) and trivialize the time-consuming part of a local shear-wave splitting study, leaving more time for interpretation and analysis of results. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Tomographic imaging of the NW edge of the Hellenic volcanic arc

The broader South Aegean area is characterized by the convergence of the African and Eurasian lithospheric tectonic plates at a rate of approximately 30 mm/year, resulting in a complex and intense deformation of the Aegean (McClusky et al. Geophys. Res. 105: 5695–5719, 2000). The Saronikos Gulf, situated in the NW termination of the Hellenic volcanic arc (Central Aegean Sea), is an area of special geophysical interest due to the variety of the recorded seismicity, regarding both the origin (tectonic, volcanic) and the focal depths. The presence of Plio-Quaternary volcanic centers and the complex seismicity distribution urge the need of detailed research on the geophysical properties such as seismic velocities, revealing possible presence of magmatic bodies or geothermal fluids. In the present study, more than 3000 manually revised events were located using a local 1-D layered velocity model. The main spatiotemporal clusters are concentrated along the Leuces and Methana-Poros E-W striking neotectonic fault zones. A local earthquake tomography (LET) was performed, using body-wave (P and S) travel time data, to investigate small to medium scale (~ 10 km) anomalies that can be related to local neotectonic or volcanic patterns. Major shallow ~ E-W to NW-SE trending discontinuities between positive (to the north) and negative (to the south) VP perturbations, anticorrelated to the respective VS image, are identified south of Aigina Island. These results are mainly related to the principal local stress orientation and fault zones (~ E-W to NW-SE strike), such as the Moni, Anghistri, and Leuces, whereas the respective Vp/Vs ratio values imply the presence of possible magmatic features which can be linked to the Plio-Quaternary NW edge of the Hellenic volcanic arc and hydrothermal activity ENE of Poros Island. © 2019, Springer Nature B.V

Mantle dynamics beneath Greece from SKS and PKS seismic anisotropy study

SKS and PKS splitting parameters were determined in the broader Greek region using data from 45 stations of the Hellenic Unified Seismological Network and the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, utilizing teleseismic events that occurred between 2010 and 2017. Data were processed for shear-wave splitting with the Minimum Energy Method that was considered the optimal. The results generally confirm the existence of anisotropic zonation in the Hellenic subduction system, with alternating trench-normal and trench-parallel directions. The zonation is attributed to the upper and lower olivine fabric layers that can, potentially, be present in the subduction zone. At the edges of this zone, two possible toroidal flow cases have been identified, implying the existence of tears that allow the inflow of asthenospheric material in the mantle wedge. The high number of null measurements in the KZN and XOR stations indicates a possible anisotropic transition zone between the fore-arc and back-arc areas. SKS and PKS splitting results are jointly interpreted, given that they yield similar values in most cases. © 2018, Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences & Polish Academy of Sciences