bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Historical context and the criminological imagination: Towards a three-dimensional criminology
Authors: Yeomans Henry
Published: November 2018

It is widely claimed that criminologists should exercise a ‘criminological imagination’ by connecting individual experiences of crime to social structures and historical context. Despite such claims, criminology is often guilty of a ‘presentism’ that sees the past neglected, ignored or misunderstood. So why and how should criminological research be contextualized historically? This article identifies and examines the functions and forms of historical research within criminology. The article’s significance rests partly in the formulation of an original matrix of forms and functions and its practical utility as a framework for supporting historical contextualization. Additionally, it is ultimately intended that this framework will help construct a more historically sensitive criminology, as attuned to historical context as it is to individual lives and social structures. The creation of this three-dimensional criminology would entail a fuller realization of the criminological imagination, thus significantly enhancing the analytical and socially transformative properties of criminological research broadly.
Improving patient safety in developing countries – moving towards an integrated approach
Authors: Elmontsri Mustafa , Banarsee Ricky , Majeed Azeem
Published: November 2018

Summary

Patient safety is a major public health issue. It has also been recognised as an area for improvement. The purpose of this article is to discuss the need for developing an integrated approach to patient safety improvement in developing countries. Relevant literature to identify the common themes and patterns associated with patient safety improvement was conducted through a search of the online databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PUBMED and Google Scholar) for the years 2000 to 2017. Lessons and interventions from developed countries have been taken into consideration to identify the themes needed for patient safety improvement in developing countries. This review provides an integrated approach based on best practice which can be used to guide the development of a national strategy for improving patient safety. Policy makers need to focus on developing a holistic and comprehensive approach to patient safety improvement that takes into account the themes discussed in this article.
Programmatic Dreams: Technographic Inquiry into Censorship of Chinese Chatbots
Authors: Xu Yizhou (Joe)
Published: November 2018

This project explores the recent censorship of two Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on Tencent’s popular WeChat messaging platform. Specifically, I am advancing a technographic approach in ways that give agency to bots as not just computing units but as interlocutors and informants. I seek to understand these chatbots through their intended design—by chatting with them. I argue that this methodological inquiry of chatbots can potentially points to fissures and deficiencies within the Chinese censorship machine that allows for spaces of subversion. AI chatbot development China presents a rich site of study because it embodies the extremes of surveillance and censorship. This is all the more important as China have elevated disruptive technologies like AI and big data as critical part of state security and a key component to fulfilling the “Chinese Dream of National Rejuvenation.” Whether it is the implementation of a national “social credit” system or the ubiquitous use facial recognition systems, much of Western fears about data security and state control have been already realized in China. Yet, this also implies China is at the frontlines of potential points of resistance and fissures against the party–state–corporate machine. In doing so, I not only seek to raise questions dealing with the limits of our humanity in the light of our AI-driven futures but also present methodological concerns related to human–machine interfacing in conceptualizing new modes of resistance.
Establishing Health Biotech and Enhancing Local Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals in Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Balcha Taye T
Published: November 2018

Although many nations in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have recently recorded impressive economic growth, and several countries could attain middle-income status in the next decade, there is no or little concurrent advance in health biotech with little capabilities for manufacturing of medicines, medical supplies, and health commodities in the region. They import majority of medicines, medical supplies, and health commodities used in national programs including immunization, family planning, tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria that drive health outcomes and population-level impact with supports mainly obtained from high-income countries, multilateral agencies, or philanthropies. Nevertheless, there is a growing global debate that countries should graduate from receiving development assistance which goes to the most important health programs like immunization when nations transition from low-income to middle-income economic status. Since sudden withdrawal of all or partial development assistance could send a shock to the health care and dent the trajectory toward achieving the health Sustainable Development Goal, it is imperative to urgently establish or strengthen health biotech and enhance manufacturing of pharmaceuticals in SSA.
Outcomes of expedited rotator cuff surgery in injured workers: Impact of pathology on readiness for return to work
Authors: Singh Gargi , Mann Helen , Razmjou Helen
Published: November 2018

Objectives:

The objectives of this study were to (1) examine the overall recovery and satisfaction following an expedited rotator cuff (RC) decompression or repair at 3–6 months and (2) explore group differences (repair vs. decompression) in demographics, clinical, disability, and psychosocial factors.

Methods:

This was a prospective longitudinal study of injured workers whose surgery was expedited. The outcome measures were Quick disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand ( QuickDASH), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the readiness for return to work (RRTW) scale, and satisfaction with surgery and overall recovery.

Results:

Of 118 patients participated in the study, 106 patients, age: 51 (9), 71 males (67%) completed the study. Sixty-four (60%) patients underwent a RC repair and 42 (40%) had RC decompression. Patients improved on average in QuickDASH ( p = 0.004), anxiety ( p = 0.003), and depression scores ( p = 0.004). The majority of patients (75%) were satisfied with surgery. In the decompression group, the pre-contemplation (PC) stage of the RRTW which documents the absence of desire or planning for return to work in the non-working sample ( r = 0.81, p = 0.008) and the uncertain maintenance (UM) stage of the RRTW which explores the worker’s struggle to stay at work in the working sample correlated with physical disability as measured by the QuickDASH scores ( r = 0.62, p = 0.0001). In the repair group, the above domains correlated with the depression HADS scores (PC: r = 0.64, p = 0.001 and UM: r = 0.57, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion:

Expedited RC surgery improved physical disability and mental well-being and was associated with a relatively high satisfaction at a maximum of 6 months. The poorer report of readiness for return to work was associated with higher physical disability in the decompression group and higher report of depression in the repair group. These differential associations may emphasize the importance of physical versus psychological management in patients with different levels of pathology.
The Cliff Sign: A New Radiographic Sign of Hip Instability
Authors: Packer Jonathan D. , Cowan James B. , Rebolledo Brian J. , Shibata Kotaro R. , Riley Geoffrey M. , Finlay Andrea K. , Safran Marc R.
Published: November 2018

Background:

The preoperative diagnosis of hip microinstability is challenging. Although physical examination maneuvers and magnetic resonance imaging findings associated with microinstability have been described, there are limited reports of radiographic features. In patients with microinstability, we observed a high incidence of a steep drop-off on the lateral edge of the femoral head, which we have named the “cliff sign.”

Purpose:

(1) To determine the relationship of the cliff sign and associated measurements with intraoperative microinstability and (2) to determine the interobserver reliability of these measurements.

Study Design:

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2.

Methods:

A total of 115 consecutive patients who underwent hip arthroscopy were identified. Patients with prior hip surgery, Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, fractures, pigmented villonodular synovitis, or synovial chondromatosis were excluded, resulting in the inclusion of 96 patients in the study. A perfect circle around the femoral head was created on anteroposterior pelvis radiographs. If the lateral femoral head did not completely fill the perfect circle, it was considered a positive cliff sign. Five additional measurements relating to the cliff sign were calculated. The diagnosis of microinstability was made intraoperatively by the (1) amount of traction required to distract the hip, (2) lack of hip reduction after initial traction release following joint venting, or (3) intraoperative findings consistent with hip microinstability. Continuous variables were analyzed through use of unpaired t tests and discrete variables with Fisher exact tests. Interobserver reliability (n = 3) was determined for each measurement.

Results:

Overall, 89% (39/44) of patients with microinstability had a cliff sign, compared with 27% of patients (14/52) without instability ( P < .0001). Conversely, 74% of patients with a cliff sign had microinstability, while only 12% of patients without a cliff sign had instability ( P < .0001). In women younger than 32 years with a cliff sign, 100% (20/20) were diagnosed with instability. No differences were found in any of the 5 additional measurements. Excellent interobserver reliability was found for the presence of a cliff sign and the cliff angle measurement.

Conclusion:

We have identified a radiographic finding, the cliff sign, that is associated with the intraoperative diagnosis of hip microinstability and has excellent interobserver reliability. Results showed that 100% of young women with a cliff sign had intraoperative microinstability. The cliff sign may be useful in the preoperative diagnosis of hip microinstability.
Cornucopia: Origins, diffusion and adoption in ancient Irano-Indian semiosphere
Authors: Borumand Safura
Published: November 2018

Cornucopia or the horn of plenty is one of the cultural and social symbols that signify abundance and blessing in Western culture. Cornucopia originated from Greek mythology, partly related to the legend of Zeus, and partly to the legends of Hercules, Hades, Demeter and Tyche. The sign of cornucopia is also depicted on ancient Iranian and Indian artworks, and the obvious inference is that this was due to Hellenistic influence in both countries.
Integrating Sociological Perspectives into Obesogenic Research: Associations between Air Pollution Exposure and Obesity Prevalence across U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Authors: Eckhardt Jessica L.
Published: November 2018

Obesogenic theories suggests that obesity risk can be influenced by exposure to toxic chemicals present in built and natural environments. Although physical scientists have been on the forefront of obesogenic research, social science perspectives have been absent in understanding the relationship between environmental pollution and obesity risk. To address such gaps, the author uses a sociological perspective to explore the way in which exposure to a specific class of obesogens, endocrine disruptors, influences adult obesity prevalence. Using air pollution emissions data from the National Air Toxics Assessment and health data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Screening Survey, the author assesses the association between emission exposure and obesity risk across metropolitan areas in the United States. Although the nonsignificant findings do not support obesogenic hypotheses, this research demonstrates the need for obesogenic investigation using large, nationally represented data sets that can be stratified to identify inequalities in pollution exposure and associated obesity risk.
Lesser Tuberosity Osteotomy in Anatomic Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Authors: Martusiewicz Alexander , Keener Jay D
Published: November 2018

The deltopectoral exposure has earned the reputation as the “workhorse” approach to the shoulder. Due to the reproducible anatomy and its extensile nature, there is little debate when considering exposure in total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). Despite this consensus, there is still significant variability in management of the subscapularis. Several repair techniques including a subscapularis tenotomy, peel, and lesser tuberosity osteotomy (LTO) have been developed to ensure healing and optimize function. This article focuses on performing a LTO in anatomic TSA. We will review the surgical technique and advantages in exposure in addition to biomechanical and clinical outcomes.
The Prevalence of Comorbidities in Children and Young Adults With Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis
Authors: Edens Cuoghi , Antonelli Maria
Published: November 2018

Background:

Adult-onset psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have been associated with diabetes, hypertension (HTN), and obesity in addition to other diagnoses. The relationship of these comorbidities in children and young adults with PsO and PsA is not well known.

Objective:

To evaluate the prevalence of metabolic comorbidities and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in those ≤19 years of age with PsO and PsA.

Method:

We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients ≤19 years of age from the United States with PsO and PsA using a pooled deidentified health-care system database. Comorbidities of interest included diabetes mellitus (DM), HTN, IBD, and obesity. The χ2 test and odds ratio (OR) were calculated.

Results:

A total of 6470 patients ≤19 years of age with PsO and 520 with PsA were identified. Both cohorts were largely Caucasian; PsA had a female predominance. Almost half of those with PsO and PsA were obese. There was a statistical difference between PsA and PsO and the general population in regard to DM, HTN, and IBD ( P < 0.01). Childhood and adolescent PsA was associated with DM, HTN, and obesity compared to PsO (OR: 2.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-4.12, OR: 5.60, 95% CI: 3.61-8.67, OR: 1.31 95% CI: 0.95-1.35, OR: 2.91, 95% CI: 2.04-4.15), respectively.

Conclusions:

Metabolic comorbidities and IBD are pervasive in children and young adults with PsA and PsO. Diabetes mellitus and HTN were more prevalent in PsA than PsO, the converse found with IBD. Children and young adults diagnosed with psoriatic diseases are more likely to be obese than the general population.
Low plasma stem cell factor combined with high transforming growth factor-α identifies high-risk patients in pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Bouzina Habib , Rådegran Göran
Published: November 2018

In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), severe vasoconstriction and remodelling of small pulmonary arteries result in high mortality. Receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands, such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-α, modulate proliferation in PAH. Although the receptor tyrosine kinase c-Kit has been shown to be overexpressed in PAH, the expression and role of its ligand stem cell factor (SCF) remain unknown. However, low plasma SCF levels are known to be linked to higher cardiovascular mortality risk.

Using proximity extension assays, we measured SCF and TGF-α in venous plasma from treatment-naïve PAH patients and healthy controls. Patients were stratified into risk classes based on PAH guidelines.

Plasma SCF was decreased (p=0.013) and TGF-α was increased (p<0.0001) in PAH patients compared to controls. SCF correlated to pulmonary vascular resistance (r=−0.66, p<0.0001), cardiac index (r=0.66, p<0.0001), venous oxygen saturation (r=0.47, p<0.0008), mean right atrial pressure (r=−0.44, p<0.002) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic protein (r=−0.39, p<0.006). SCF was lower in “high-risk” compared to “intermediate-risk” (p=0.0015) or “low-risk” (p=0.0009) PAH patients. SCF and TGF-α levels combined (SCF/TGF-α) resulted in 85.7% sensitivity and 81.5% specificity for detecting high-risk patients (p<0.0001). Finally, REVEAL (Registry to Evaluate Early and Long-Term Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Disease Management) risk scores in PAH patients correlated to SCF/TGF-α levels (r=−0.50, p=0.0003).

In conclusion, low plasma SCF combined with high TGF-α identifies high-risk PAH patients at baseline. Lower circulating SCF levels, which are associated with worse haemodynamics, may be related to the c-Kit accumulation previously observed in PAH.
Expiratory reactance abnormalities in patients with expiratory dynamic airway collapse: a new application of impulse oscillometry
Authors: Fielding David I. , Travers Justin , Nguyen Phan , Brown Michael G. , Hartel Gunter , Morrison Stephen
Published: November 2018

Expiratory dynamic airways collapse (EDAC) is a condition that affects the central airways; it is not well characterised physiologically, with relatively few studies. We sought to characterise impulse oscillometry (IOS) features of EDAC in patients with normal spirometry. Expiratory data were hypothesised to be the most revealing. In addition, we compared IOS findings in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with and without EDAC.

EDAC was identified at bronchoscopy as 75–100% expiratory closure at the carina or bilateral main bronchi. Four patient groups were compared: controls with no EDAC and normal lung function; lone EDAC with normal lung function; COPD-only patients; and COPD patients with EDAC.

38 patients were studied. Mean IOS data z-scores for EDAC compared to controls showed significantly higher reactance (X) values includingXat 5 Hz, resonance frequency and area under the reactance curve (AX). EDAC showed significantly greater expiratory/inspiratory differences in all IOS data compared to controls. Stepwise logistic regression showed that resonant frequency best discriminated between EDAC and normal control, whereas classification and regression tree analysis found AX≥3.523 to be highly predictive for EDAC in cases with normal lung function (14 out of 15 cases, and none out of eight controls).

These data show a new utility of IOS: detecting EDAC in patients with normal lung function.
TEAD4 overexpression promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition and associates with aggressiveness and adverse prognosis in head neck squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Zhang Wei , Li Jin , Wu Yaping , Ge Han , Song Yue , Wang Dongmiao , Yuan Hua , Jiang Hongbing , Wang Yanling , Cheng Jie
Published: November 2018

Background

Deregulated Hippo signaling has been uncovered to be intricately involved in tumorigenesis. Transcriptional factor TEADs serve as key mediators of Hippo signaling and have been increasingly appreciated as putative oncogenes driving cancer initiation and progression. However, its expression pattern and oncogenic role of TEAD4 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain largely unexplored.

Methods

TEAD4 mRNA expression in HNSCC was determined by data mining and analyses from TCGA dataset and four independent cohorts with transcriptional profiling data publically available. The protein abundance of TEAD4 was measured by immunohistochemistry in 105 primary HNSCC samples and associations between its expression and clinicopathological parameters and patient survival were evaluated. The oncogenic roles of TEAD4 was further determined by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO)-induced animal model, both knockdown/overexpression assay and TGF-β1-induced epithelia-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vitro.

Results

Both mRNA and protein abundance of TEAD4 were significantly increased in HNSCC as compared to its non-tumor counterparts. Overexpression of TEAD4 significantly associated with high pathological grade, cervical node metastasis, advanced clinical stage and reduced overall and disease-free survival. In the 4NQO-induced HNSCC mouse model, increased TEAD4 immunostaining was found associated with disease progression. TEAD4 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced cell apoptosis in HNSCC cells, while its overexpression resulted in opposite effects and EMT. Moreover, TEAD4 was critically involved in TGF-β1-induced EMT in HNSCC cells.

Conclusions

Our findings reveal that TEAD4 serves as a novel prognostic biomarker and putative oncogene for HNSCC by promoting cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and EMT.
Influence of FTO rs9939609 and Mediterranean diet on body composition and weight loss: a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Di Renzo Laura , Cioccoloni Giorgia , Falco Simone , Abenavoli Ludovico , Moia Alessandra , Sinibaldi Salimei Paola , De Lorenzo Antonino
Published: November 2018

Background

The Mediterranean diet (MeD) plays a key role in the prevention of obesity. Among the genes involved in obesity, the Fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) is one of the most known, but its interaction with MeD remained uncertain so far.

Methods

We carried out a study on a sample of 188 Italian subjects, analyzing their FTO rs9939609 alleles, and the difference in body composition between the baseline and a 4-weeks nutritional intervention. The sample was divided into two groups: the control group of 49 subjects, and the MeD group of 139 subjects.

Results

We found significant relations between MeD and both variation of total body fat (ΔTBFat) (p = 0.00) and gynoid body fat (p = 0.04). ∆TBFat (kg) demonstrated to have a significant relation with the interaction diet-gene (p = 0.04), whereas FTO was associated with the variation of total body water (p = 0.02).

Conclusions

MeD demonstrated to be a good nutritional treatment to reduce the body fat mass, whereas data about FTO remain uncertain. Confirming or rejecting the hypothesis of FTO and its influence on body tissues during nutritional treatments is fundamental to decide whether its effect has to be taken into consideration during both development of dietetic plans and patients monitoring.

Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Id: NCT01890070. Registered 01 July 2013,https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01890070
Modeling and assessing the effects of the sea surface, from being flat to being rough and dynamic
Authors: Blacquière Gerrit , Sertlek Hüseyin Özkan
Published: November 2018

The sea surface acts as a very strong reflector because of the large impedance contrast between water and air. The reflection coefficient is [Formula: see text] in a very good approximation. Apart from the surface multiples, the sea surface is also responsible for generating the source and receiver ghost wavefields. These cause the well-known ghost notches in the spectrum: areas where the signal-to-noise ratio is very low. To model the ghost wavefields, ghost operators can be computed and applied to ghost-free data. Modeling experiments indicate that in the case of a flat sea surface, the character of the notches in various gather types, e.g., receiver gather, common-offset gather, shot record, is largely determined by the complexity of the earth. In a simple earth, e.g., horizontally layered, the notches are always well-defined and deep, but in a complex earth, they become blurry in some of the gather types. Therefore, in the case of a complex subsurface, source deghosting is best carried out in the common-receiver domain and receiver deghosting is best carried out in the common-shot domain. In the case of a simple subsurface, deghosting can be carried out in all domains. An additional factor is that the sea surface may be rough and dynamic. This causes blurry ghost notches in all gather types, even in the case of a simple earth. To model the source ghost for this situation, an effective static rough sea surface suffices. This keeps the computations simple. The condition is that the source has an impulsive character. However, to model the receiver ghost (and the source ghost for a nonimpulsive source), the dynamics of the sea surface must be included. This can be done by composing the final result from the results computed for several “frozen” snapshots of the dynamic sea surface.
Retinoic acid-induced CYP51 nuclear translocation promotes meiosis prophase I process and is correlated to the expression of REC8 and STAG3 in mice
Authors: Mu Xinyi , Wen Jia , Chen Qian , Wang Zhengpin , Wang Yijing , Guo Meng , Yang Yi , Xu JinRui , Wei Zhiqing , Xia Guoliang , Yang Mengye , Wang Chao
Published: November 2018

Lanosterol 14 α-demethylase (CYP51) plays a crucial role in cholesterol biosynthesis. In gamete development, CYP51 is involved in initiating meiosis resumption in oocytes through its product, meiosis activating sterol (MAS). In this study, CYP51 was observed to localize within the nucleus of germ cells undergoing meiotic prophase I. Following the addition of retinoic acid (RA) to induce meiosis or the RA receptor pan-antagonist AGN193109 to block meiosis in fetal ovaries, the translocation of CYP51 into the nucleus of oocytes was advanced or delayed, respectively. In addition, treatment with Cyp51-siRNA or RS21745, a specific CYP51 inhibitor, significantly delayed the meiotic progression of oocytes in the ovary, with most oocytes arresting at the zygotene stage, and likewise, significantly reduced perinatal primordial follicle formation. Furthermore, inhibition of CYP51 is correlated to significantly decreased expression of REC8 and STAG3, both of which are meiosis-specific cohesin subunits. To sum up, RA-induced CYP51 nuclear translocation is critical for oocytes meiotic progression, and consequently folliculogenesis, which might act through impacting the expression of meiosis-specific cohesins REC8 and STAG3.
The fallacy of thePcrit – are there more useful alternatives?
Authors: Wood Chris M.
Published: November 2018

P crit – generally defined as the PO2 below which the animal can no longer maintain a stable rate of O2 consumption (ṀO2), such that ṀO2 becomes dependent upon PO2 – provides a single number into which a vast amount of experimental effort has been invested. Here, with specific reference to water-breathers, I argue that this focus on the Pcrit is not useful for six reasons: (1) calculation of Pcrit usually involves selective data editing; (2) the value of Pcrit depends greatly on the way it is determined; (3) there is no good theoretical justification for the concept; (4) Pcrit is not the transition point from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism, and it disguises what is really going on; (5) Pcrit is not a reliable index of hypoxia tolerance; and (6) Pcrit carries minimal information content. Preferable alternatives are loss of equilibrium (LOE) tests for hypoxia tolerance, and experimental description of full ṀO2 versus PO2 profiles accompanied by measurements of ventilation, lactate appearance and metabolic rate by calorimetry. If the goal is to assess the ability of the animal to regulate ṀO2 from this profile in a mathematical fashion, promising, more informative alternatives to Pcrit are the regulation index and Michaelis–Menten or sigmoidal allosteric analyses.
Barnaba: software for analysis of nucleic acid structures and trajectories
Authors: Bottaro Sandro , Bussi Giovanni , Pinamonti Giovanni , Reißer Sabine , Boomsma Wouter , Lindorff-Larsen Kresten
Published: November 2018

RNA molecules are highly dynamic systems characterized by a complex interplay between sequence, structure, dynamics, and function. Molecular simulations can potentially provide powerful insights into the nature of these relationships. The analysis of structures and molecular trajectories of nucleic acids can be nontrivial because it requires processing very high-dimensional data that are not easy to visualize and interpret. Here we introduce Barnaba, a Python library aimed at facilitating the analysis of nucleic acid structures and molecular simulations. The software consists of a variety of analysis tools that allow the user to (i) calculate distances between three-dimensional structures using different metrics, (ii) back-calculate experimental data from three-dimensional structures, (iii) perform cluster analysis and dimensionality reductions, (iv) search three-dimensional motifs in PDB structures and trajectories, and (v) construct elastic network models for nucleic acids and nucleic acids–protein complexes. In addition, Barnaba makes it possible to calculate torsion angles, pucker conformations, and to detect base-pairing/base-stacking interactions. Barnaba produces graphics that conveniently visualize both extended secondary structure and dynamics for a set of molecular conformations. The software is available as a command-line tool as well as a library, and supports a variety of file formats such as PDB, dcd, and xtc files. Source code, documentation, and examples are freely available at https://github.com/srnas/barnaba under GNU GPLv3 license.
Η Ελληνική Εμπειρία των Διαρθρωτικών Ταμείων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης: Οι αγνοημένες επιπτώσεις
Authors: Λιαργκόβας Παναγιώτης , Χουλιαράς Αστέρης
Published: November 2018

A large number of ex ante, ex itinere and ex post evaluation studies have assessed the direct impact of the EU Structural Funds on the Greek economy. Some of them, mainly EU-commissioned studies, have assessed the microeconomic impact of funds. Others, more academic, have focused on the impact of funds on economic and social indicators (GDP,employment, productivity) at regional or country level. A common characteristic of both approaches is that Structural Funds represent an economic policy tool and therefore their impact on Greece is mostly economic. In this article, we support the view that the assessment of EU structural funding should be based on a wider approach that takes into account the role of economic policies, the capacity of institutions and the quality of governance.
Rural development policy and local governance: Implementing the Leader axis in South-eastern Peloponnese-Greece
Authors: Caraveli Helen , Chardas Anastassios
Published: November 2018

The new model of agricultural policy in Europe, applied through the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs), has been considered most appropriate for the case of Greece, given the structural problems of this country’s farm sector (including the high proportion of mountainous, less favoured areas in its territory) and the need for mild forms of local development, which will ensure maximum use of endogenous resources. An integral part of the rural development policy of the CAP is a decentralized type of governance, based on a ‘bottom-up’ approach and implemented through the LEADER programs. Within this context, regional and local actors, state, private or representing civil society organizations are assigned a substantial role in designing and implementing RDPs in their localities through the creation of horizontal or vertical synergies. Though the LEADER philosophy can be instrumental in the successful application of RDPs in Greek rural regions, it has been rather little researched and investigated. This paper aims at filling this gap in the literature by examining the possibilities of introducing the bottom up approach in the governance of rural regions in Greece, where the old-type ‘sectoral’ (vs. the holitistic development) approach continues to dominate agricultural policy and where local decisions have traditionally (and certainly in the last 30 years or so) been controlled and directed by the central state. A crucial question is can the LEADER type of governance help in the regeneration of the country-side promoting internal cohesion in Greece? The issues discussed in the paper assume further significance in view of the current financial and economic crisis, and the wave of return migration to rural areas it has led to, which assigns rural regions a substantial role in the overall development process.
Factors influencing the collaboration between universities and companies from Greek industrial estates, as a mean of regional development
Authors: Vikas Ioannis , Apostolopoulos Konstantinos
Published: November 2018

The industrial estates of Greece and their companies create poles of regional development and local innovation centers. The development of collaboration between universities and local business centers can benefit the local economy and society. The current research, spreads in 100 companies from 19 industrial estates of Greece. It aims to indicate important factors that influence the collaboration between universities and companies from greek industrial estates. The data were collected during 2013, through a structured questionnaire. Selected variables from the questionnaire were used in order to build a logistic regression model. The results indicate that the degree of collaboration between universities and companies is positively influenced by the number of employees in the company and by the degree of collaboration between the company and the local administration institutions. On the other hand, it is negatively influenced by the size of the industrial estate that the company operates and by the lack of company’s information knowledge.
Δημοτικά Λιμενικά Ταμεία: Δύναμη ανάπτυξης για την Περιφέρεια
Authors: Κωνσταντίνου Νάνσυ
Published: November 2018

Δεν διατίθεται περίληψη
Integration, spatial dynamics and regional policy dilemmas in the European Union
Authors: Πετράκος Γεώργιος
Published: November 2018

This paper presents a critical account of the process of integration and its implications for the future of European Union. It analyses the type, strength and direction of trade and factor fl ows a mong places and the emerging geography of development in Europe. It argues that integration is not a space neutral process, as its main drivers are characterized by spatial selectivity and diverging performances, generating an overall unfavorable environment for laggingbehind regions in the EU. The paper also discusses the current regional policy dilemmas in the EU, arguing that top-down uniformity in policy choices and a strict framework of policy directives should be avoided, as different places may have to choose a different mix of regional policy that will correspond better to their needs. The paper also examines why the persistently underperforming regions in Europe cannot learn and benefi t from best-case examples and the success stories of other regions. Although factors affecting economic potential are usually different in advanced and less advanced regions, cohesion policies attempt to solve the underdevelopment problems of the lagging regions, only informed by the experience of the successful ones. The paper concludes that regional policy has to change in important ways. The new territorial approach requires policy to become more fl exible and more adaptive to local and regional needs. This means that uniformity in policy priorities and mix should be avoided and the proposed ‘pan-European approach’ should leave enough room for bottom up and place based approaches, as the experience shows that no single path or an a priori mix of policy tools exists for every place.
Rural development policy: An alternative development strategy for τhe case of Greece
Authors: Καραβέλη Ελένη , Δούκας Γιάννης
Published: November 2018

This paper presents the implementation of European Rural Development Policy (RDP) in Greece for the programming period 2007-13. First, the introduction of ‘regional’ elements in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the course of its reforms is discussed. Second, the directions and means of RDP in the current period are examined and the Commission’s proposals for the next programming period are presented. Third, the targets, measures and allocation of funds of RDP in Greece are analysed based on the experience of the previous period and given the chronic diffi culties and obstacles that this policy approach faces in Greece.
Η Έννοια της Ανθεκτικότητας στην Περιφερειακή Επιστήμη: Επισκόπηση και Αποδόμηση
Authors: Καλλιώρας Δημήτρης
Published: November 2018

Η έννοια της ανθεκτικότητας τείνει, εσχάτως, να καταστεί εξαιρετικά δημοφιλής στο πεδίο της περιφερειακής επιστήμης, αντανακλώντας, εν πολλοίς, το αίσθημα της ανασφάλειας και της αβεβαιότητας το οποίο κυριαρχεί στις περιφερειακές οικονομίες αρκετές εκ των οποίων έχουν καταστεί (εξαιρετικά) ευάλωτες στις επιπτώσεις της διεθνοποίησης και της ολοκλήρωσης. Το αίσθημα αυτό εδραιώνεται προϊούσης της οικονομικής – αλλά και της περιβαλλοντικής – κρίσης. Η ανθεκτικότητα είναι μια έννοια ελατή: εκλαμβάνεται με διαφορετικό τρόπο από διαφορετικούς ανθρώπους. Το παρόν άρθρο επιχειρεί την επισκόπηση και την αποδόμηση της έννοιας της ανθεκτικότητας όπως αυτή εκλαμβάνεται στο πεδίο της περιφερειακής επιστήμης.
Redefining Periphery: Offshore Finance, Peripheral States and the World Economy
Authors: Katsikas Dimitris
Published: November 2018

This article seeks to examine the changing dynamics between the periphery and the core of the world economy. Small, peripheral states have assumed an increasingly important role in recent decades by offering fi nancial services to an increasing and geographically expanding range of corporate entities and wealthy individuals. These Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) or tax havens, offer a service, which often has negative consequences for non-OFC countries at the core of the global economy. Despite pressure from the latter, these small states at the periphery of the global state system are able to continue their operation unabated. This is possible because in a world of growing technological nterconnectedness and capital mobility these states are able to employ the one resource they possess that has no limits: their legal sovereignty, that is, their right to write and enact law. By effectively commercializing their sovereignty small states are able to offer “juridical relocation”, a valuable service to wealthy individuals and companies around the world, which in turn employ them as a core piece in their intricate global wealth managing networks.
Regions and business cycles’ synchronization: Aspects, trends and perspectives
Authors: Οικονόμου Γιώργος , Ασημακόπουλος Μανώλης
Published: November 2018

Τhe proposed article aims to capture the potential of the Greek Regions, in terms of their contribution to the national product, and to present the regional business cycles of the country as well. The key research question is the investigation of the existence of synchronization between regional business cycles on the one hand with the national cycle and the corresponding Attica’s cycle on the other, over a certain period of time (1970 to 2010). While the key challenge of regional policy is the regional convergence and the balanced regional development, there is evidence based on the regional gross domestic product trend, which reveal a different aspect. Individual regional cycles present asymmetric economic fl uctuations compared to the national and the Attica’s cycles, implying divergence for considerable periods of time. Evidence of business cycles synchronization appear for all thirteen Regions in the early 1970s and after the years 2005-2006, coinciding with aspects of the economic contraction that began to emerge progressively at that time.
Disaggregating the impact of the European Union Cohesion Policy: Differentiated responses in the internalisation of the policy’s ‘added value’ in Greece and Ireland
Authors: Chardas Anastassios , Adshead Maura
Published: November 2018

This paper explores the divergent ‘added value’ that the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Cohesion Policy (CP) had in two of the original cohesion countries, Greece and Ireland. The implementation of the CP entails the transposition of the added value that arrives at the domestic level of the recipient countries and intends to promote changes in the administrative and institutional structures. The paper identifi es fi ve areas in which the added value has infl uenced Greece and Ireland, cohesion, political, policy, operational and policy learning. We argue that Greece has faced signifi cant diffi culties in internalising certain components of the CP added value because of a series of domestic administrative and institutional arrangements that mediated this relationship. In the case of Ireland there have been better patterns of adjustment to the components of the CP added value because the previously established institutional and administrative arrangements were reformed by the domestic Irish governments.
The Implementation of the Decoupling reform: A comparative study between Spain and Greece
Authors: Σουρή Ευαγγελία
Published: November 2018

Δεν διατίθεται
Nancy A. Vamvakas - Europeanizing Greece: The Effects of Ten Years of EU Structural Funds, 1989-1999
Authors: Οικονόμου Γιώργος
Published: November 2018

Δεν διατίθεται
Introduction: Perspectives from the Radical Other
Authors: Anim-Addo Joan , Covi Giovanna , Marchi Lisa
Published: November 2018

No abstract (available).
Reclaiming the Human: Creolizing Feminist Pedagogy at Museum Frontiers
Authors: Golding Viv , Lima Maria Helena
Published: November 2018

In this paper we reflect, together with a group of international students, on the affective and political power of texts and contexts. Our starting point is Joan Anim-Addo’s Imoinda, a text whose form, setting, and narrative structure render productive moments of “Relation” (Glissant), in which individuals and their historical experiences – rooted in colonial oppression – establish connection to each other through difference rather than commonality. We outline a series of collaborative teaching workshops designed with Andy McLellan, the Head of Education and his colleague Salma Caller at the Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford, which provided fresh ways to engage our students in the transnational space inherent in Imoinda, as well as in the tangible and intangible heritage that the Pitt Rivers Museum houses. The paper discusses how study of Anim-Addo’s libretto at a frontier site between the university and the museum can enhance understandings of the text and the context from which the work was created. Specifically, we argue that the value of such frontier work lies in progressing critical thinking, although Relation here is not simply cognitive, but vitally allows emotional and sensory re-connections with musical forms and art from around the globe to enrich intercultural knowledge. A major focus is on the development of a creolized feminist pedagogy at the museum frontiers that, without being naïve to hierarchies of power and control in the wider world of lived experience beyond institutions, is responsible. Such practice is dialogical in essence. It privileges careful listening and speaking amongst all participants – teachers and students – and strives to raise diverse voices through the embodied learning that multisensory activities with museum objects can promote. Most importantly, the interculturality of Imoinda in terms of text, music and context, reading, writing and witnessing creates another “contact zone” of sorts (to use Mary Louise Pratt’s term) which demands a re-examination of our paradigms for the analysis of subject formation and representation outside conventional binaries and across the Black Atlantic.
Creolizing Cultures and Kinship: Then and There, Now and Here
Authors: Covi Giovanna
Published: November 2018

This paper considers literary texts by women writers that trouble mainstream definitions of family and love to figure shared knowledges. Through intercultural performances, they stage conversations between Euro-American, African-American, and African-Caribbean cultures to re-present kinship (Judith Butler) as a concept which by being as elastic as intimacy (Ara Wilson) and affects (Leela Gandhi), enables figurations (Donna Haraway) and hence actions that point towards a shared planetarity (Gayatri C. Spivak). I argue that these cultural products nourish creolizing agency (Edouard Glissant and Kamau Brathwaite) which prevents us from falling into a regime of terror, where crisis is equated to public and domestic paralysis under a state of emergency. This is so because they effectively show how to join poetics with politics and ethics, and thus to build collectivities of belonging (Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich). I seek to demonstrate that the creolizing capability of such discourse, as articulated for example by Toni Morrison, Kim Ragusa, Joan Anim-Addo, and Jamaica Kincaid, deconstructs otherness without assimilating it, because it embraces translation as the mode (Walter Benjamin) of the always already necessary impossibility. In tune with Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan’s emphasis on translation as a mode which allows us to imagine conjunctures and intersections that have no originals and cannot speak in a single language, this paper insists on the primary importance of critique to confront questions of power; It offers figurations of the global that, by incorporating intimacy, affects, and by troubling kinship, map material and discoursive reality in a manner that is widely inclusive, through affiliation (Edward Said) rather than filiation. By thematizing love as political practice, the literary texts here examined contribute to the phenomenological grounding of the discourse on affects inaugurated by Eve K. Sedgwick and further elaborated by Rosi Braidotti. Kincaid’s See Now Then provides the wording of my argument: because these figurations never forget the then of colonialism, they bring forward a now of globalization that is populated by subjectivities—Radical Others—capable of subverting and transgressing the establishment, without erasing their own vulnerability.
Bernardine Evaristo’s The Emperor’s Babe: Re-narrating Roman Britannia, De-essentialising European History
Authors: Gendusa Ester
Published: November 2018

Bernardine Evaristo’s The Emperor’s Babe (2001) contributes to the imaginative disentanglement of the traditional British ethnicity-and-nation nexus and questions the related founding myth of racial purity by featuring the character of Zuleika, a young black woman who is born of Sudanese parents in Roman London. Through the depiction of Zuleika, Evaristo offers a subversive reshaping of some versions of the official British national history in the context of a wider revision of the European classical past. However, in spite of its temporal setting, Evaristo’s historical novel simultaneously engages with contemporary issues of gendered racialisation and national belonging. In its highly orchestrated poetic prose, Roman Londinium and today’s London are imaginatively interwoven. This enables the reader to correlate Zuleika’s attempts at negotiating her right to citizenship in the Roman empire to contemporary Black British feminist politics, committed as it is to resisting structures of sexist and racial discrimination at play in present-day Britain.
Sarah Barnsley. Mary Barnard. American Imagist
Authors: Reynes-Delobel Anne
Published: November 2018

No abstract (available).