Reshaping politics of the left and centre in Greece after the 2014 EP election. EPIN Commentary No. 21/10 September 2014

The political landscape in Greece is confused and volatile at the moment; the right and extreme- right-wing parties are accorded a disproportionately large place in political debate, while the radical left-wing SYRIZA party is attempting to maintain a ‘leftist’ profile and demonstrate its capacity to govern through a strategy of image normalisation. These tensions make it very difficult for the Greek government to stick to the EU’s tough reform agenda. The governing coalition is trying to conceal the social effects of implementing structural policy reforms, even postponing some measures to avoid bearing their political cost. At the same time, it is adopting a very rushed, and thus quite worrying, attitude towards a fast-track growth agenda, without taking into consideration the conditions for sustainable economic development

Greece as an example of “post-politics” in the eurozone. EPIN Commentary No. 28/9 November 2015

The negotiations between Greece and the EU and IMF tested the unity, limits, stamina and financial interdependence of eurozone member states. Greece emerged wounded from the fray, but Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has established beyond doubt his dominance in Greek politics, in defiance of partisan competitors at home and his counterparts’ wishes in the rest of Europe. In this EPIN Commentary the authors argue that – beyond the political significance of SYRIZA’s third electoral victory in seven months – this vote of confidence brings certain characteristics of both Greek and EU politics into sharper relief. The high-risk political activism undertaken by Syriza’s leadership in the first half of 2015 has (re)opened the debate about what kind of EU we live in, and contributed to the creation of another type of discourse in Europe – one that has so far been the preserve of established elites

Greece in limbo: Post-election 2015 scenarios. EPIN Commentary No. 22/ 21 January 2015

In the run-up to elections in Greece on January 25th, this EPIN commentary explores the likelihood and consequences of four potential post-election scenarios: 1. Syriza single-party majority government or Syriza-led coalition government with anti-austerity parties 2. Syriza-led coalition government with pro-austerity parties or Syriza minority government 3. New Democracy government or ND-led coalition government 4. No government is formed

Self-conscious emotions in patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain: a brief report.

OBJECTIVE: The role of self-conscious emotions (SCEs) including shame, guilt, humiliation and embarrassment are of increasing interest within health. Yet, little is known about SCEs in the experience of chronic pain. This study explored prevalence and experience of SCEs in chronic pain patients compared to controls and assessed the relationship between SCEs and disability in pain patients. DESIGN AND MEASURES: Questionnaire assessment comparing musculoskeletal pain patients (n=64) and pain-free control participants (n=63). Pain was assessed using the McGill Pain Questionnaire; disability, using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire; and six SCEs derived from three measures (i) Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 yielding subscales of shame, guilt, externalisation and detachment (ii) The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale and (iii) The Pain Self-Perception Scale assessing mental defeat. RESULTS: Significantly greater levels of shame, guilt, fear of negative evaluation and mental defeat were observed in chronic pain patients compared to controls. In the pain group, SCE variables significantly predicted affective pain intensity; only mental defeat was significantly related to disability. CONCLUSION: Findings highlight the prevalence of negative SCEs and their importance in assessment and management of chronic pain. The role of mood in this relationship is yet to be explored

Estimation of a risk profile to operatives and the public from motorway hard-shoulder incursions

This project focuses on the risk to the operatives and the public arising from hard-shoulder incursions on motorways, which are defined as the temporary violation of this lane by a vehicle travelling on the nearside lane. Even though interest has been raised around safety when stopping on the hard-shoulder, there is no significant research conducted to investigate and quantify this risk. In this EngD project, motorway hard-shoulder accidents were investigated individually from the main traffic lanes to explore the factors affecting their severity and likelihood and identify potential differences using discrete choice and time-series modelling techniques. Based on the safety triangle theory, it was assumed that eliminating the contributory factors for injury accidents would also minimise the risk of hard-shoulder incursions, which were used as a risk indicator. An observation-based survey was conducted to gain initial knowledge on the frequency of incursions within a motorway stretch and also basic conditions that may affect the severity as well. Further to the survey, in order to collect hard-shoulder incursion data automatically, potential vehicle detection solutions were investigated. A radar sensor-based system was identified as the most suitable for this purpose and was adapted to suit the project s requirements. The sensor was installed on a motorway site, following a series of requirements to ensure safe and effective deployment. The data collected from the radar sensor were processed to minimise the errors and then corresponded to the traffic related and environmental data available for the same period of time. Using the Generalised Linear Autoregressive Moving Average model, the final models developed provided the factors that mostly affect the occurrence of hard-shoulder incursions. The main factors are temperature, humidity, traffic composition and average speed on the main carriageway. Using these models it is possible to quantify the risk and forecast when this will be minimised at a particular motorway section at any time. The risk is estimated according to the explanatory variables proposed, by inputting the predictions of these conditions in the model. This model is a tool that may then allow the operatives to be deployed on the network in the safest manner, according to the levels of tolerable risk

The prognostic value of the hypoxia markers CA IX and GLUT 1 and the cytokines VEGF and IL 6 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated by radiotherapy ± chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Several parameters of the tumor microenvironment, such as hypoxia, inflammation and angiogenesis, play a critical role in tumor aggressiveness and treatment response. A major question remains if these markers can be used to stratify patients to certain treatment protocols. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-relationship and the prognostic significance of several biological and clinicopathological parameters in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated by radiotherapy ± chemotherapy. METHODS: We used two subgroups of a retrospective series for which CT-determined tumoral perfusion correlated with local control. In the first subgroup (n = 67), immunohistochemistry for carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) and glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) was performed on the pretreatment tumor biopsy. In the second subgroup (n = 34), enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to determine pretreatment levels of the cytokines vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in serum. Correlation was investigated between tumoral perfusion and each of these biological markers, as well as between the markers mutually. The prognostic value of these microenvironmental parameters was also evaluated. RESULTS: For CA IX and GLUT-1, the combined assessment of patients with both markers expressed above the median showed an independent correlation with local control (p = 0.02) and disease-free survival (p = 0.04) with a trend for regional control (p = 0.06). In the second subgroup, IL-6 pretreatment serum level above the median was the only independent predictor of local control (p = 0.009), disease-free survival (p = 0.02) and overall survival (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, we are the first to report a link in HNSCC between IL-6 pretreatment serum levels and radioresistance in vivo. This link is supported by the strong prognostic association of pretreatment IL-6 with local control, known to be the most important parameter to judge radiotherapy responses. Furthermore, the combined assessment of CA IX and GLUT-1 correlated independently with prognosis. This is a valuable indication that a combined approach is important in the investigation of prognostic markers

Ευθύνη του παραγωγού ελαττωματικού φαρμάκου

Η παρούσα εργασία πραγματεύεται το ζήτημα της αστικής ευθύνης από την παραγωγή ελαττωματικών φαρμακευτικών προϊόντων. Για την επίτευξη του αναγκαίου επιπέδου ασφάλειας και θεραπευτικής αποδοτικότητας του φαρμάκου, θεσπίζονται αυξημένες υποχρεώσεις στο πρόσωπο του κατόχου της άδειας κυκλοφορίας του, ο οποίος, στο πλαίσιο των θεμάτων που άπτονται της παρούσας μελέτης, ταυτίζεται με την έννοια του «παραγωγού». Οι υποχρεώσεις αυτές στοχεύουν στην αποφυγή κυκλοφορίας στην αγορά ελαττωματικών φαρμάκων και στη διασφάλιση της δημόσιας υγείας. Για το λόγο αυτό, η παρούσα εργασία εστιάζει στον προσδιορισμό της έννοιας του ελαττωματικού φαρμάκου από τη σκοπιά των υποχρεώσεων του κατόχου της άδειας κυκλοφορίας του, αναδεικνύοντας το ζήτημα πως η ελαττωματικότητα, κατά την συντριπτική της πλειοψηφία είναι άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένη με την ελλιπή ενημέρωση και όχι την ελλιπή κατασκευή. Εισάγονται οι έννοιες του Φύλλου Οδηγιών Χρήσεως και της Περίληψης Χαρακτηριστικών του Προϊόντος, το περιεχόμενο των οποίων τυγχάνει καίριας σημασίας. Επιπλέον, η παρακολούθηση του προϊόντος μετά τη θέση του στην κυκλοφορία αποτελεί αδήριτη ανάγκη, προκειμένου να διαπιστώνεται η διαρκής αξιολόγηση της σχέσης κινδύνου/οφέλους. Αναπόφευκτα όμως, όλα τα φάρμακα μπορούν να προκαλέσουν ανεπιθύμητες ενέργειες. Το ζήτημα αυτό έρχεται να καλύψει η φαρμακοεπαγρύπνηση, που αποτελεί ένα σύστημα ελέγχου της ασφάλειας των φαρμάκων με απώτερο στόχο τη μείωση των ανεπιθύμητων ενεργειών και την αντίστοιχη αύξηση των ωφελειών για τους ασθενείς. Στην παρούσα μελέτη, πέραν της εξέτασης των ανωτέρω ζητημάτων, θα επιχειρηθεί επιπλέον ο προσδιορισμός της αστικής ευθύνης του υπεύθυνου κυκλοφορίας ενός ελαττωματικού φαρμακευτικού προϊόντος υπό το πρίσμα των διατάξεων του ΑΚ και της ειδικής νομοθεσίας για την προστασία του καταναλωτή.This paper addresses the issue of producer's liability for the production of defective medicinal products