AIM: To validate novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Greek patients with Crohn's disease (CD).METHODS: A total of 120 patients with CD, 85 patients with UC, and 100 unrelated healthy controls were geno...AIM: To validate novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Greek patients with Crohn's disease (CD).METHODS: A total of 120 patients with CD, 85 patients with UC, and 100 unrelated healthy controls were genotyped. Genotyping was performed by allele-specific PCR or by PCR-RFLP analysis.RESULTS: Our results showed that the 1672T and -207C alleles were obviously over-represented in CD patients only (P＜0.01 and P＜0.05, respectively) compared to the control population. The G113A polymorphism was completely absent in our studied population. The odds ratio for the carriage of the TC haplotype was 2.21 for CD patients as compared with controls. Additionally, the frequency of the TC haplotype was increased in patients with ileocolitis or colitis, and was mainly associated with the fibrostenotic phenotype of the disease. Furthermore, when the TC haplotype was compared jointly with the carriage of at least one mutation of the NOD2/CARD15 gene, there was an increased risk for CD, but not for UC, compared to controls. Regarding the location of the disease, the concomitant presence of the TC haplotype and NOD2/CARD15 mutations was mainly associated with ileocolitis or ileitis. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our results suggest that the 1672T variant of the OCTN1 gene and the -207C variant of the OCTN2 gene represent risk factors for CD in the Greek population.展开更多
AIM: To study the incidence of ulcerative colitis UC in the prefecture of Trikala, Central Greece. METHODS: A prospective and population based epidemiological study of UC from 1990 to the end of 1994 was conducted. Tr...AIM: To study the incidence of ulcerative colitis UC in the prefecture of Trikala, Central Greece. METHODS: A prospective and population based epidemiological study of UC from 1990 to the end of 1994 was conducted. Trikala is a semirural prefecture of Central Greece with a population of 138 946 (census 1991). Three gastroenterologists (one hospital based, two private doctors) of the prefecture participated in this study. RESULTS: During the study period, 66 new historically verified cases of UC were recorded. The mean annual incidence of the disease in 1990-1994 was 11.2 per 105 inhabitants (95%CI: 8.7-14.3). There was no difference between men and women (annual incidence: 10.5 and 12.0 per 105 inhabitants respectively), either among urban, semirural or rural populations (annual incidence: 11.7, 17.1 and 9,9 per 105 inhabitants respectively). The majority (56%) of the patients never smoked and a quarter were ex-smokers. About a half of all cases had proctitis. CONCLUSION: UC is common in Central Greece and its incidence is similar to that in North-Western European countries.展开更多
Setting reliable speed limits on roads has always been a challenging process of designers and road agencies. In this paper the results of a methodology for setting speed limits on rural roads of all categories in Gree...Setting reliable speed limits on roads has always been a challenging process of designers and road agencies. In this paper the results of a methodology for setting speed limits on rural roads of all categories in Greece is presented based on international research and an extensive drivers attitudes＇ survey. The 85th percentile speed has proven in this case to be the decisive criterion for establishing reliable speed limits or advisory speeds in most cases. The resulted 10 km/la increase in legal speed limits on freeways and express rural highways did not validate any fears that accident rates or frequencies would increase. On the contrary an 8% decrease of crashes was observed in a period of about three years after the implementation of the increased speed limits level on the rural highway network of the country.展开更多
The reason for the double-edged sword effect of technology is that in modern system of knowledge, there has appeared a gap between technology and ethics which couldn＇t be found in ancient Greece. Going back to the Gr...The reason for the double-edged sword effect of technology is that in modern system of knowledge, there has appeared a gap between technology and ethics which couldn＇t be found in ancient Greece. Going back to the Greek ancestor of technology--techne, will shed a light on the solution of the problems brought about by modem technology, because even before Plato whose ideas on techne have been heatedly discussed nowadays, techne has embraced an ethical dimension.展开更多
It is fascinating to realize that even while Hollywood continually comes up with incredible special effects in films such as Avatar （2009）, the basic structure and development closely ＂follows＂ the guidelines for ...It is fascinating to realize that even while Hollywood continually comes up with incredible special effects in films such as Avatar （2009）, the basic structure and development closely ＂follows＂ the guidelines for drama and storytelling laid out by Aristotle in his The Poetics, written several thousand years ago. We are specifically speaking of three act （beginning, middle, and ending） structure, focusing more on plot than character, and the need for a final resolution （catharsis）. But throughout literary and cinematic history, not everyone has followed these rules. Ironically, we take a close look at the award-winning Greek director Theo Angelopoulos＇ Ulysse＇s Gaze （1995） staring Harvey Keitel, as an example of a very non-Aristotelian approach to filmmaking and storytelling. Angelopoulos＇ film is character rather than plot centered on the Harvey Keitel figure and the journey of the narrative can be broken down to between 8-10 acts, depending how you describe them. We discuss many of the standard American ＂how to write screenplay book＂ authors such as Syd Field, while bringing a variety of authors such as Lajos Egri （The Art of Dramatic Writing） who criticize both Aristotle＇s Poetics and the way it has been interpreted for centuries especially in Hollywood. We conclude that there is a middle ground as well, for while Casablanca （1942） has a clear three act structure, it does not give us a happy romantic ＂Hollywood＂ ending/resolution as Rick insists that Lisa leave with her husband.展开更多
Terms of sustainable and sustainability have been employed in various sectors and fields since around 1990. To make a society sustainable needs to find ways of having sustainable local activities. The ways may be to f...Terms of sustainable and sustainability have been employed in various sectors and fields since around 1990. To make a society sustainable needs to find ways of having sustainable local activities. The ways may be to find and revitalize local resources, or to support new life styles by accepting outsider＇s new ideas. I see those ways often taken from a perspective that the ways require a structure or institutional organization. To explore in-between ways, it would be better to have an alternative perspective and useful to learn from Southeast Asian cases of managing diversity while accepting new ways （cf. Reid, 2015）. In this essay, I focus on a sustainable craft making of a men＇s hat kopiah meuketob in Aceh, Sumatra, which is traditional item for marriage but has been used in various imaginative ways and has been shaping a regional ＂craft-scape.＂ I examine such ways and various facets of making the hat and conclude that a lesson from the case for making things sustainable is equal and flexible ways of participating in production processes.展开更多
In this paper we examine private debt developments in Greece from 1970 onwards. We find private debt nearly stationary for about 20 years （starting from extremely low values） and expanding thereafter in nearly explo...In this paper we examine private debt developments in Greece from 1970 onwards. We find private debt nearly stationary for about 20 years （starting from extremely low values） and expanding thereafter in nearly explosive terms. By disaggregating the time series of private debt, we pinpoint household debt （consumer, credit cards and mortgages） as the reason for this exponential increase. When considering demand and supply curves for household debt, shifts of the curves are to be interpreted： explanations from the demand side include, among others, expectations of future incomes. Regarding the supply side, the availability of loans （partly attributable to increased bank competition） and overall bank deregulation are proposed. Financial deregulation permitted banks to move promptly and offer to ambitious （but not necessarily solvent） customers a wide spectrum of choices： mortgages, credit cards, consumer loans and so on. Every single step in the process of financial deregulation was accompanied by a higher level of household indebtedness. Moving up from the household level to the macroeconomic level, increased debt had been also a solution to stalling effective demand, possibly due to the redistribution of income. Empirical analysis and causality tests are conducted along these lines and we find a two way causal relationship between GDP growth and private debt.展开更多
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the reception of Wagner＇s approaches to Greek antiquity by Greek musicologists and composers which took place at the first half of the 20th century. Wagner＇s such readings wer...The purpose of this paper is to analyze the reception of Wagner＇s approaches to Greek antiquity by Greek musicologists and composers which took place at the first half of the 20th century. Wagner＇s such readings were parts of wider narrations of archeology and how Greeks perceived their past.This research is largely based on primary sources of that time; its arguments construct two levels of critique： （1） Admiration （the ＇proper＇ aesthetic examples are German models, as exemplified in Wagner＇s work）; and （2） ＂Hellenism＂ as a means to distancing from Wagner （The past of ancient Greece is still believed to be better understood by the Greeks）. The principal conclusions are： （1） Wagner＇s views were admired because Wagner＇s example （ancient culture） should also be an example for Greek composers; and （2） Wagner＇s views were judged on the grounds of： Ideology： the expression of the ＂soul＂; the theory of ＂historic continuity＂; the balance between music, poetry, and dance; Wagner gave superiority to music, modem Greeks （should） give a predominant role to language as a means of expression in an ancient drama, or achieve a balance among the three arts of music, poetry, and dance.展开更多
文摘AIM: To validate novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Greek patients with Crohn's disease (CD).METHODS: A total of 120 patients with CD, 85 patients with UC, and 100 unrelated healthy controls were genotyped. Genotyping was performed by allele-specific PCR or by PCR-RFLP analysis.RESULTS: Our results showed that the 1672T and -207C alleles were obviously over-represented in CD patients only (P＜0.01 and P＜0.05, respectively) compared to the control population. The G113A polymorphism was completely absent in our studied population. The odds ratio for the carriage of the TC haplotype was 2.21 for CD patients as compared with controls. Additionally, the frequency of the TC haplotype was increased in patients with ileocolitis or colitis, and was mainly associated with the fibrostenotic phenotype of the disease. Furthermore, when the TC haplotype was compared jointly with the carriage of at least one mutation of the NOD2/CARD15 gene, there was an increased risk for CD, but not for UC, compared to controls. Regarding the location of the disease, the concomitant presence of the TC haplotype and NOD2/CARD15 mutations was mainly associated with ileocolitis or ileitis. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our results suggest that the 1672T variant of the OCTN1 gene and the -207C variant of the OCTN2 gene represent risk factors for CD in the Greek population.
文摘AIM: To study the incidence of ulcerative colitis UC in the prefecture of Trikala, Central Greece. METHODS: A prospective and population based epidemiological study of UC from 1990 to the end of 1994 was conducted. Trikala is a semirural prefecture of Central Greece with a population of 138 946 (census 1991). Three gastroenterologists (one hospital based, two private doctors) of the prefecture participated in this study. RESULTS: During the study period, 66 new historically verified cases of UC were recorded. The mean annual incidence of the disease in 1990-1994 was 11.2 per 105 inhabitants (95%CI: 8.7-14.3). There was no difference between men and women (annual incidence: 10.5 and 12.0 per 105 inhabitants respectively), either among urban, semirural or rural populations (annual incidence: 11.7, 17.1 and 9,9 per 105 inhabitants respectively). The majority (56%) of the patients never smoked and a quarter were ex-smokers. About a half of all cases had proctitis. CONCLUSION: UC is common in Central Greece and its incidence is similar to that in North-Western European countries.
文摘Setting reliable speed limits on roads has always been a challenging process of designers and road agencies. In this paper the results of a methodology for setting speed limits on rural roads of all categories in Greece is presented based on international research and an extensive drivers attitudes＇ survey. The 85th percentile speed has proven in this case to be the decisive criterion for establishing reliable speed limits or advisory speeds in most cases. The resulted 10 km/la increase in legal speed limits on freeways and express rural highways did not validate any fears that accident rates or frequencies would increase. On the contrary an 8% decrease of crashes was observed in a period of about three years after the implementation of the increased speed limits level on the rural highway network of the country.
文摘The reason for the double-edged sword effect of technology is that in modern system of knowledge, there has appeared a gap between technology and ethics which couldn＇t be found in ancient Greece. Going back to the Greek ancestor of technology--techne, will shed a light on the solution of the problems brought about by modem technology, because even before Plato whose ideas on techne have been heatedly discussed nowadays, techne has embraced an ethical dimension.
文摘It is fascinating to realize that even while Hollywood continually comes up with incredible special effects in films such as Avatar （2009）, the basic structure and development closely ＂follows＂ the guidelines for drama and storytelling laid out by Aristotle in his The Poetics, written several thousand years ago. We are specifically speaking of three act （beginning, middle, and ending） structure, focusing more on plot than character, and the need for a final resolution （catharsis）. But throughout literary and cinematic history, not everyone has followed these rules. Ironically, we take a close look at the award-winning Greek director Theo Angelopoulos＇ Ulysse＇s Gaze （1995） staring Harvey Keitel, as an example of a very non-Aristotelian approach to filmmaking and storytelling. Angelopoulos＇ film is character rather than plot centered on the Harvey Keitel figure and the journey of the narrative can be broken down to between 8-10 acts, depending how you describe them. We discuss many of the standard American ＂how to write screenplay book＂ authors such as Syd Field, while bringing a variety of authors such as Lajos Egri （The Art of Dramatic Writing） who criticize both Aristotle＇s Poetics and the way it has been interpreted for centuries especially in Hollywood. We conclude that there is a middle ground as well, for while Casablanca （1942） has a clear three act structure, it does not give us a happy romantic ＂Hollywood＂ ending/resolution as Rick insists that Lisa leave with her husband.
文摘Terms of sustainable and sustainability have been employed in various sectors and fields since around 1990. To make a society sustainable needs to find ways of having sustainable local activities. The ways may be to find and revitalize local resources, or to support new life styles by accepting outsider＇s new ideas. I see those ways often taken from a perspective that the ways require a structure or institutional organization. To explore in-between ways, it would be better to have an alternative perspective and useful to learn from Southeast Asian cases of managing diversity while accepting new ways （cf. Reid, 2015）. In this essay, I focus on a sustainable craft making of a men＇s hat kopiah meuketob in Aceh, Sumatra, which is traditional item for marriage but has been used in various imaginative ways and has been shaping a regional ＂craft-scape.＂ I examine such ways and various facets of making the hat and conclude that a lesson from the case for making things sustainable is equal and flexible ways of participating in production processes.
文摘In this paper we examine private debt developments in Greece from 1970 onwards. We find private debt nearly stationary for about 20 years （starting from extremely low values） and expanding thereafter in nearly explosive terms. By disaggregating the time series of private debt, we pinpoint household debt （consumer, credit cards and mortgages） as the reason for this exponential increase. When considering demand and supply curves for household debt, shifts of the curves are to be interpreted： explanations from the demand side include, among others, expectations of future incomes. Regarding the supply side, the availability of loans （partly attributable to increased bank competition） and overall bank deregulation are proposed. Financial deregulation permitted banks to move promptly and offer to ambitious （but not necessarily solvent） customers a wide spectrum of choices： mortgages, credit cards, consumer loans and so on. Every single step in the process of financial deregulation was accompanied by a higher level of household indebtedness. Moving up from the household level to the macroeconomic level, increased debt had been also a solution to stalling effective demand, possibly due to the redistribution of income. Empirical analysis and causality tests are conducted along these lines and we find a two way causal relationship between GDP growth and private debt.
文摘The purpose of this paper is to analyze the reception of Wagner＇s approaches to Greek antiquity by Greek musicologists and composers which took place at the first half of the 20th century. Wagner＇s such readings were parts of wider narrations of archeology and how Greeks perceived their past.This research is largely based on primary sources of that time; its arguments construct two levels of critique： （1） Admiration （the ＇proper＇ aesthetic examples are German models, as exemplified in Wagner＇s work）; and （2） ＂Hellenism＂ as a means to distancing from Wagner （The past of ancient Greece is still believed to be better understood by the Greeks）. The principal conclusions are： （1） Wagner＇s views were admired because Wagner＇s example （ancient culture） should also be an example for Greek composers; and （2） Wagner＇s views were judged on the grounds of： Ideology： the expression of the ＂soul＂; the theory of ＂historic continuity＂; the balance between music, poetry, and dance; Wagner gave superiority to music, modem Greeks （should） give a predominant role to language as a means of expression in an ancient drama, or achieve a balance among the three arts of music, poetry, and dance.
