Aspirin is currently the most widely used drug worldwide, and has been clearly one of the most important pharmacological achievements of the twentieth century. Historians of medicine have traced its birth in 1897, but the fascinating history of aspirin actually dates back >3500 years, when willow bark was used as a painkiller and antipyretic by Sumerians and Egyptians, and then by great physicians from ancient Greece and Rome. The modern history of aspirin precursors, salicylates, began in 1763 with Reverend Stone - who first described their antipyretic effects - and continued in the 19th century with many researchers involved in their extraction and chemical synthesis. Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann synthesized aspirin in 1897, and 70 years later the pharmacologist John Vane elucidated its mechanism of action in inhibiting prostaglandin production. Originally used as an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drug, aspirin then became, for its antiplatelet properties, a milestone in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The aspirin story continues today with the growing evidence of its chemopreventive effect against colorectal and other types of cancer, now awaiting the results of ongoing primary prevention trials in this setting. This concise review revisits the history of aspirin with a focus on its most remote origins.
Accurate knowledge and correct analysis of the thoughts and opinions of Islamic sages are dependent on identifying the contexts and factors of the emergence of thoughts and their effectiveness from the wisdom of their predecessors. Anthropology is one of the wisdom heritages of ancient Iran, whose essence can be seen in the opinions of Muslim sages and their philosophy (Masha philosophy, Ishraq philosophy, and philosophy of Sadra). Therefore, the philosophical analysis of good and evil in the field of anthropology is based on the meaning of good and evil in the wisdom of ancient Iran, which was very important in order to confirm the truth of this statement. In the present study, the authors analyze and apply the philosophical foundations derived from good. There is evil in Iranian wisdom with Islamic wisdom. The result is proof of the existence of common philosophical points in the historical application of Iranian, Ishraqi, and Sadrai ruling bases. Commonalities include the commonality of the concept of good and evil (light and darkness), the existence of human agency and his free will in finding good and evil, and the fact that angels are examples of good and demons are examples of evil. This is complete proof of the historical course of the thought of good and evil in terms of ontology and epistemology from Iranian wisdom to Sadra. Keywords: Good, Evil, Iranian Wisdom, Ishraqi Wisdom, Sadrai Wisdom (Philosophy of Sadra). IntroductionKnowing and studying the historical development of the periods of philosophy in the world will clarify the origin of thought in the history of Iranian wisdom among philosophers. What can be obtained from old works and contemporary Western researchers is that, before there was a philosophy in Greece, there existed a philosophy in the east of Iran, Babylon, Egypt, Lebanon, and the islands of Sicily, as Mulla Sadra wrote in Risalah al-Haduth. He considers the origin of philosophy and wisdom from Adam and his children Seth, Hermes, Idris, and Noah and introduces Hermes as the father of the wise. Some scholars consider philosophy to be a historical miracle born in Greece, while Mulla Sadra believes that wisdom had no history in ancient Rome and Greece, and Prophet Ibrahim (Peace Be Upon Him), taught them the science of monotheism, and the sages of ancient Greece acquired philosophy from divine prophets. In the introduction of Hikmat al-Ishraq, it is stated that you should not think that there is no wisdom because wisdom was before the predecessors and the world has never been free of wisdom and of people who have mastered wisdom. In addition, in the book The Path of Wisdom in Iran and the World (Khamenei, 2010), Advanced Greek Philosophy and Ancient Iran (Nikolaynalov, 2014), and Iranian Wisdom and Transcendental Wisdom (Khamenei, 2018), there is documentation that Islamic wisdom is derived from the wisdom of ancient Iran, not Greece. Materials and MethodsThe comparative analytical method has a special place for analyzing theoretical problems, diagnosing, and solving scientific problems in the eyes of researchers. This method has two important pillars that should be considered throughout the comparative study: 1) Knowing the phenomenon or the point of view that is the goal of the comparative study; 2) Understanding and explaining the positions of disagreement and agreement between the matters to be compared and compared. In fact, this approach is a process that starts from the definition of the problem and has four stages of limiting the scope of adaptation, obtaining the maximum aspects of similarity and distinction, passing from apparent similarities and differences to real ones, and explaining them. Research FindingsIt seems that the importance and influence of Iranian wisdom on the two wisdoms of Sadra and Ishragi cannot be ignored because according to some philosophical researchers, the lines of ancient Greek wisdom such as the wisdom of Plato, Plotinus, and Pythagoras can be seen, which has many similarities with the teachings and foundations of Zoroastrian philosophy in ancient Iran and the wisdom of Khosravani. In addition, the available reports prove that ancient Greek philosophers and Alexandrian scientists had communication and scientific interactions with the philosophers of Iran and India. This claim is stated in the introduction to the translation of Mullah Sadra's book Mufatih al-Ghaib. In addition, in the book Hekmat al-Ishraq, Sheikh Eshraq points out the secrets of Iranian wisdom that is the reason for the establishment of the rule of Eshraq based on light and darkness, and he considers it the method of Persian sages such as Jamasb and predecessors such as Kiyomarth, Tahmurth, Keikhosrow, and Zoroaster. Discussion of Results and ConclusionsIn the description of good and evil in Iranian wisdom (Ishraqi and Sadrai), it can be said that the philosophy of creation is the same in Iranian and Islamic wisdom. In the Quran, God is a light that is eternal, and Satan and evil are from darkness. This period is expressed in the same way in both Iranian wisdom and Islamic philosophy with a different language. In Islamic wisdom, God is the Almighty, and in Iranian wisdom, Ahura Mazda is the only creator. This creator has not created anything but goodness and beauty.The concept of good and evil in Iranian wisdom is interpreted as light and darkness. As Suhravardi considers light and darkness to be the basis of his philosophy. Sadr al-Mutalahin also recognizes the truth of human existence as light, which has levels of doubt, strength, weakness, perfection, and imperfection. Man's discretion in the existence and emergence of good and evil in the wisdom of Iranians is such that a wise man chooses good or bad by his own free will. Shaykh Ishraq has put forward human discretion through practical reason and control over human powers, and Mulla Sadra considers the need for balance and human development to be a good property in human existence, which provides the basis for human growth and development. It is achieved through theoretical and practical reasons. In Iranian wisdom, angels are immortal good spirits who oppose the demons. Sheikh Eshraq has also referred to the rule of Ashraf and the Lord of Kindness and has referred to the category of angels, their help and assistance. In Sadra's wisdom, the presence of angels and Satan play an important role in human happiness and error.
Can leveraging family history reduce xenophobia? Building on theories of group identity, we show that a family history of forced relocation leaves an imprint on future generations and can be activated to increase sympathy toward refugees. We provide evidence from Greece and Germany, two countries that vividly felt the European refugee crisis, and that witnessed large-scale forced displacement of their own populations during the twentieth century. Combining historical and survey data with an experimental manipulation, we show that mentioning the parallels between past and present differentially increases pledged monetary donations and attitudinal measures of sympathy for refugees among respondents with forcibly displaced ancestors. This differential effect is also present among respondents without a family history of forced migration who live in places with high historical concentration of refugees. Our findings highlight the role of identity and shared experience for reducing out-group discrimination.
Floros Flouros, Victoria Pistikou, Vasilios Plakandaras
The advent of various initiatives around the globe in shaping an energy transition towards a “greener” energy production future sparked a research interest towards the determinants that will shape their success. In this paper, we depart from the relevant literature evaluating the potential effect of geopolitical tensions on renewable energy investments, building on an explicit quantitative approach that provides clear empirical evidence. In doing so, we compile a large panel of 171 economies and measure the effect of geopolitical risk on “green” investing as measured by popular geopolitical risk indices, while controlling for all major variables proposed by literature. Our flexible Autoregressive Distributed Lag model with heterogenous effects across economies suggests that geopolitical risk has a significantly measurable effect on green investments both in the short and the long run. In fact, our results suggest that proper model specification is robust across alternate risk assessments. Overall, our study has direct policy implications suggesting that renewable energy could be an important part of our energy mix only if we take into account its linkages with geopolitical tensions.
The author offers an itinerary through the images of the Trojan Cycle and the Iliad that arrived or were reinterpreted in Etruria between the ancient orientalizing period and the 4th century B.C.From the 7th century on, knowledge of the Greek epic (which was not limited to the reception of the Trojan cycle, but also included the Theban one or that of the Argonauts) resulted in a reappropriation and acculturation in the figurative language of iconographies, schemes and scenes applicable and transposable to local social and political realities, such as ancestor worship and the rules of devolution of royal power.The “demaratean” moment of Etruria involves a deepening of this knowledge because the litterae then introduced suggest an effective recitation of certain epic passages in princely residences. We give here an example relating to a tumulus of Tarquinia whose architectural structure includes, according to a new interpretation proposal, a metope alluding to the depas of Nestor (Iliad, XI).Knowledge of the Homeric epic world is growing in parallel with the institutional, religious and social dynamics which are gradually leading the orientalizing aristocracy to get involved in the development of cities. Contacts with the Greco-Eastern world of Asia Minor, but also with the Athens of Pisistratus then punctuate new stages whose meaning is summed up in the François crater, special commission for a king of Clusium or in the cup of Euphronios consecrated in the sanctuary of Heracles at S. Antonio (Cerveteri).The role of the Greco-Oriental world as the intermediary agent of the Trojan epic is analyzed in particular on the basis of caeretan examples, such as the painted terracotta plaques or the hydrias. We propose here a new analysis of the fragment of hydria from the Louvre which we link to the song IX of the Iliad.The transition from tyrannical-type regimes to oligarchic-type ones led to new interpretations and metamorphoses of the Iliad in the local mentality. We are witnessing a relative “privatization” of the epic image as a marker of aristocratic identity (such as the scarabs whose images circulate in a narrow circle of hetairoi); the dissemination of certain exclusive messages (such as those implied by the dedication of the cup of Nestor in the sanctuary of Diana Tifatina in Capua, by the frescoes in the tomb of Brygos I or by a rare image of the Painter of Jahn where we propose to recognize the theme of the Antiloque funeral).With the end of the 5th century, new modes of appropriation of scenes from the Trojan cycle and the Iliad appear, originated in the cultural conquests of classical Athens and determined by the struggle or the polemic against Rome. The heroes of the epic are more closely associated with the mantic speculations on saecula, on the Nekyia, and Acherontic categories. We re-examine here the implications of the representation of Homeric heroes at the Belvedere temple in Orvieto (Iliad, VII), of those of the Nekyia on the back wall of the Golini II tomb. Similarly, the toga picta of Vel Saties in the François tomb, the sarcophagus of the “Sacerdote” (Partunu Tomb in Tarquinia) and the bronzes (cista and crater) of the Curunas I tomb in Tuscania are reexamined.Knowledge of the Trojan cycle and the Iliad in Etruria is constantly calibrated on the search for a homothety of values transposable in the local society and a source of political prestige. It also becomes, from the end of the 5th century, the manifesto of a struggle which opposes “the descendants of Achilles” to “the descendants of Aeneas”.
Dysmenorrhea (pain during menstruation) is one of the most common medical conditions among women of reproductive age. Dysmenorrhea has been studied around the world but not yet in Greece. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence, characteristics, and impact of dysmenorrhea on the wellbeing (exercising, and social and academic functioning) among nursing students in Greece. A cross-sectional study of 637 nursing students was conducted by administering a questionnaire at a university in Athens. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 89.2% and the rate of severe intensity was 52.5%. Factors that were associated with severe dysmenorrhea were family history (p = 0.02), early menarche (p = 0.05) and menstruation duration (p = 0.05). Women with moderate and severe pain reported using pain relievers (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), paracetamol etc., p < 0.0005). Finally, activities affected by severe pain were class attendance (p = 0.01), personal studying (p < 0.0005), exercising (p < 0.0005), and socializing (p < 0.0005). Exam attendance (p = 0.27) and clinical placement attendance (p = 0.48) were not affected by severe dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea has a high prevalence among nursing students and seems to affect important aspects of wellbeing and academic performance when the pain intensity is severe. The present findings lay the foundation for further investigation of dysmenorrhea both in the Greek population and cross-culturally.
Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare disease with poor prognosis if left untreated, characterized by pulmonary vascular bed obstruction due to unresolving thromboembolic material. The Hellenic pulmonary hypertension registry (HOPE) was launched in Greece in early 2015 and enrolls patients from all pulmonary hypertension subgroups in Greece. In total, 98 patients with CTEPH were enrolled from January 2015 until November 2019. Of these patients, 55.1% represented incident population, 50% were classified in the World Health Organization functional class II and 49% had a history of acute pulmonary embolism. The median values of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and cardiac index were 7.4 (4.8) WU and 2.4 (1.0) L/min/m2, respectively, the mean diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide was 74.8 ± 20.6%, the median 6-minute walk distance was 347 (220) meters and the median value of N Terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide was 506.0 (1450.0) pg/mL. In total, 60.2% of the patients were under pulmonary arterial hypertension-targeted therapy at the time of enrolment; specifically, riociguat was received by 35.7% of the patients and combination therapy was the preferred strategy for 16% of the patients. In total, 74 patients were evaluated for pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA), 34 (45.9%) were assessed as operable but only 23 of those (31.1%) finally underwent PEA. The remaining 40 patients were ineligible for PEA according to the operability assessment and 13 (17.6%) of them underwent balloon pulmonary angioplasty. The age of the non-operable patients was significantly higher than the operable patients (p < 0.001), while there was no significant difference with regard to the history of coagulopathies between the operable and non-operable patients (p = 0.33).
The nowadays hyper-diverse clade of Actinopterygii (ray-finned bony fishes) is characterized by a long evolutionary history and an extremely rich global fossil record. This work builds upon 170 years of research on the fossil record of this clade in Greece. The taxonomy and spatiotemporal distribution of the ray-finned fish record of Greece are critically revisited and placed in an updated systematic and stratigraphic framework, while some new fossil data and interpretations are also provided. Greece hosts diverse ray-finned fish assemblages, which range in age from Lower Jurassic to Quaternary. Most known assemblages are of Miocene–Pliocene age and of marine affinities. A minimum of 32 families, followed by at least 34 genera and 22 species, have been recognized in Greece. From originally two named genera and seven species, only two fossil species, established on Greek material, are accepted as valid. Additional taxonomic diversity is anticipated, pending detailed investigations. From a taxonomic perspective, previous knowledge lies on preliminary or authoritative assessments of fossils, with many decades-old treatments needing revision. Little is known about Mesozoic–early Cenozoic occurrences or freshwater assemblages. Given the proven potential of the Greek fossil record, this chapter stresses the need for additional exploration and the establishment of permanent, curated collections of fossil fishes in Greek institutions. Directions for future research are discussed.
A search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson is performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 collected with the ATLAS detector in Run 2 pp collisions at s=13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed (expected) significance over the background-only hypothesis for a Higgs boson with a mass of 125.09 GeV is 2.0σ (1.7σ). The observed upper limit on the cross section times branching ratio for pp→H→μμ is 2.2 times the SM prediction at 95% confidence level, while the expected limit on a H→μμ signal assuming the absence (presence) of a SM signal is 1.1 (2.0). The best-fit value of the signal strength parameter, defined as the ratio of the observed signal yield to the one expected in the SM, is μ=1.2±0.6.
Objectives Measles outbreaks are increasingly reported among countries that were close-to-eliminate measles infection. There are few reports of clinical characteristics of adult measles in the contemporary literature. In this study we aim to describe the clinical characteristics and complications of measles infection in hospitalized adults during the recent epidemic in Greece. Methods A multicentre observational retrospective study was conducted in three tertiary hospitals in Greece. All adult hospitalized patients (≥18 years old) with serologically confirmed and/or clinical features compatible with measles were included. Pediatric patients and patients with missing data were excluded. Results In total, 93 patients, 40 males (43%) and 53 females (57%), mostly young patients were included. Most of them (87%) had no past medical history. Among women, 4 were pregnant. 56 (60.2%) and 25 (26.9%) patients reported either unknown or incomplete vaccination for measles. Ribavirin was administered in 8 (8.6%) patients. Pneumonitis and hepatic involvement were the most common complications, occurring in 43 (46.2%) and 75 (80.6%) patients respectively. Pneumonitis was significantly associated with male sex, older age, lower lymphocyte counts and higher C-reactive protein (CRP) on admission. One pregnant woman suffered spontaneous fetal miscarriage and one patient died due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and high-risk pulmonary embolism. Conclusion Considerable proportions of incompletely vaccinated or unvaccinated adults have led to the re-emergence of measles in countries with reported close-to-elimination rates. Pneumonitis is a major complication among adults with measles. More studies are imperative in order to explore the role of immune paresis in measles.
This article focuses on the fragmented journeys towards and within Europe among a group of young people originating from a country marked by war and conflict. It explores how the journey towards Europe may be part of a complex migration history that leads to layered journeys. I use the term ‘layered journeys’ to refer to multidimensional and multi-experiential journeys in which past, present and future experiences of mobility are intertwined. They may include multiple stages and various statuses. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork, creative methods and life-history interviews. It focuses on a case study of a group of young Afghan males who arrived in Greece and Norway between 2008 and 2015, looking at their journeys in the context of mobility, undocumentedness and return. Young Afghans have represented the largest group of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers arriving in Europe between 2008 and 2018. While the last decade saw a considerable increase in the number of young Afghans arriving in Europe, migration itself is not a new phenomenon in the Afghan context. Afghanistan has a long history of migratory movements as part of livelihood and survival strategies, of which the past four decades of war and conflict in Afghanistan and its resulting millions of refugees are part.
This chapter outlines the evidence for musical history in ancient Greece, connecting it to philosophical approaches represented by Plato and others, as well as to recently elucidated documents with Ancient Greek musical notation. Ideas of ethos and mimesis are related to what may be known about the sounds of ancient Greek music as elicited from descriptions, surviving scores, and replicas of instruments such as the aulos (double pipe). The chapter seeks to elucidate the notion of mousikē (‘music’, as derived from the name of Greek divinities Mousai, the Muses) in its cultural context, and to connect elements of ancient musical traditions such as metre and harmonics to contemporary aural and musical realities.
ABSTRACT The Salamanca Statement is held as a high-water mark in the history of the global development of inclusive education. It represented agreements bringing together representatives from 92 governments and 25 international organisations to advocate for a more inclusive education for students with disabilities. Since 1994 the Salamanca Statement has been referred to by international education organisations, national education jurisdictions, and disability advocacy organisations as a foundation for progressing inclusive education. In this respect the Salamanca Statement has been important for the inclusive education and Education for All [UNESCO 1998. From Special Needs Education to Education for All: Discussion Paper for the International Consultative Forum on Education for All. Paris: UNESCO] movements. However, international agreements and conventions are fragile in the face of local contingencies and become difficult to apply. We examine the case of inclusive education in Greece to reflect on this complex relationship between international aspirations and the real politic of individual nation states. Greece, like other nations, has embraced the discourse of inclusive education and its successive governments can demonstrate policy activity and public expenditure on the education of disabled students. This is remarkable in a climate of ‘crisis’ and ‘austerity’ where the only investment in the teaching workforce is in the area of inclusive education. However, is Greek education more inclusive in practice as well as rhetoric?
Ioanna Chalatsa, Demetrios A. Arvanitis, Nikolaos Stavros Koulakiotis
et al.
Crocus sativus L. natural compounds have been extensively used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. Recent research evidence is now emerging in support of its therapeutic potential for different pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases. Herein, the C. sativus L. natural compounds trans-crocin 4 and trans-crocetin were selected for in depth molecular characterization of their potentially protective effects against Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), utilizing two AD neuronal cell culture models (SH-SY5Y overexpressing APP and PC12 expressing hyperphosphorylated tau). Biologically relevant concentrations, ranging from 0.1 μM to 1 mM, applied for 24 h or 72 h, were well tolerated by differentiated wild type SH-SY5Y and PC12 cells. When tested on neuronally differentiated SH-SY5Y-APP both trans-crocin 4 and trans-crocetin had significant effects against amyloidogenic pathways. Trans-crocin 4 significantly decreased of β-secretase, a key enzyme of the amyloidogenic pathway, and APP-C99, while it decreased γ-secretases that generate toxic beta-amyloid peptides. Similarly, trans-crocetin treatment led to a reduction in β- and γ-secretases, as well as to accumulation of cellular AβPP. When tested on the neuronally differentiated PC12-htau cells, both compounds proved effective in suppressing the active forms of GSK3β and ERK1/2 kinases, as well as significantly reducing total tau and tau phosphorylation. Collectively, our data demonstrate a potent effect of trans-crocin 4 and trans-crocetin in suppressing key molecular pathways of AD pathogenesis, rendering them a promising tool in the prevention and potentially the treatment of AD.
An early Quaternary shallow submarine hydrothermal iron formation (IF) in the
Cape Vani sedimentary basin (CVSB) on Milos Island, Greece, displays banded
rhythmicity similar to Precambrian banded iron formation (BIF). Field-wide
stratigraphic and biogeochemical reconstructions show two temporal and
spatially isolated iron deposits in the CVSB with distinct sedimentological
character. Petrographic screening suggests the presence of a photoferrotrophic-like
microfossil-rich IF (MFIF), accumulated on a basement consisting of
andesites in a ∼ 150 m wide basin in the SW margin of the basin. A
banded nonfossiliferous IF (NFIF) sits on top of the Mn-rich sandstones at
the transition to the renowned Mn-rich formation, capping the NFIF unit.
Geochemical data relate the origin of the NFIF to periodic submarine
volcanism and water column oxidation of released Fe(II) in conditions
predominated by anoxia, similar to the MFIF. Raman spectroscopy pairs
hematite-rich grains in the NFIF with relics of a carbonaceous material
carrying an average <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C<sub>org</sub> signature of
∼ −25‰. A similar <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C<sub>org</sub> signature in
the MFIF could not be directly coupled to hematite by mineralogy. The NFIF,
which postdates large-scale Mn deposition in the CVSB, is composed primarily
of amorphous Si (opal-SiO<sub>2</sub> ⋅ nH<sub>2</sub>O) while crystalline quartz
(SiO<sub>2</sub>) predominates the MFIF. An intricate interaction between tectonic
processes, changing redox, biological activity, and abiotic Si precipitation
are proposed to have collectively formed the unmetamorphosed BIF-type
deposits in a shallow submarine volcanic center. Despite the differences in
Precambrian ocean–atmosphere chemistry and the present geologic time, these
formation mechanisms coincide with those believed to have formed Algoma-type
BIFs proximal to active seafloor volcanic centers.