Social Welfare Voluntarism in Greece: a Fall before the Rise?

Ο εθελοντισμός εξακολουθεί να παραμένει πα-γκοσμίως σημαντικός σε πολλούς κοινωνικούςτομείς και ένας από αυτούς είναι η κοινωνικήσυνοχή. Η κοινωνία πολιτών στην Ελλάδα υπήρξειστορικά αδύναμη και εξαρτημένη από τα πολι-τικά κόμματα. Ο εθελοντισμός είναι ανύπαρκτοςεντός των κρατικών υπηρεσιών και ελάχισταανεπτυγμένος στο πλαίσιο της εκκλησίας: ο φυ-σικός χώρος εκδήλωσης του εθελοντισμού στηχώρα μας είναι οι Εθελοντικές Οργανώσεις. Ηπροσέγγισή μας επικεντρώνεται σε τυπικές, μηκρατικές, μη κερδοσκοπικές, αυτοδιοικούμενεςοργανώσεις που δραστηριοποιούνται πρωτίστωςστον τομέα της κοινωνικής προστασίας. Από τηνανάλυση προκύπτει ότι ο τομέας είναι μικρός καιαδύναμος και δεν κατάφερε να προσαρμοστείστο μεταβαλλόμενο περιβάλλον. Το πλήθος τωνμελών φθίνει και όλα δείχνουν ότι αυτή η πτωτι-κή τάση θα συνεχιστεί και στο μέλλον.Voluntarism remains globally importantfor many social issues and one of themis social cohesion. Historically, Greece’sCivil Society was weak and dependent onthe political parties. Voluntarism is totallyabsent from the Greek public sector andhardly developed within the Church. Themain voluntary activity is channeled throughVoluntary Organizations. This article focuseson formal, private, non-profi t distributing,self-governing voluntary organizationswhose main activity is in the fi eld of socialprotection. We argue that the sector issmall and weak and has not succeeded inadapting itself to the changing environment.Membership declines and all indicatorsshow that the sector will shrivel further inthe future

Social Welfare Voluntarism in Greece: a Fall before the Rise?

Ο εθελοντισμός εξακολουθεί να παραμένει πα-γκοσμίως σημαντικός σε πολλούς κοινωνικούςτομείς και ένας από αυτούς είναι η κοινωνικήσυνοχή. Η κοινωνία πολιτών στην Ελλάδα υπήρξειστορικά αδύναμη και εξαρτημένη από τα πολι-τικά κόμματα. Ο εθελοντισμός είναι ανύπαρκτοςεντός των κρατικών υπηρεσιών και ελάχισταανεπτυγμένος στο πλαίσιο της εκκλησίας: ο φυ-σικός χώρος εκδήλωσης του εθελοντισμού στηχώρα μας είναι οι Εθελοντικές Οργανώσεις. Ηπροσέγγισή μας επικεντρώνεται σε τυπικές, μηκρατικές, μη κερδοσκοπικές, αυτοδιοικούμενεςοργανώσεις που δραστηριοποιούνται πρωτίστωςστον τομέα της κοινωνικής προστασίας. Από τηνανάλυση προκύπτει ότι ο τομέας είναι μικρός καιαδύναμος και δεν κατάφερε να προσαρμοστείστο μεταβαλλόμενο περιβάλλον. Το πλήθος τωνμελών φθίνει και όλα δείχνουν ότι αυτή η πτωτι-κή τάση θα συνεχιστεί και στο μέλλον.Voluntarism remains globally importantfor many social issues and one of themis social cohesion. Historically, Greece’sCivil Society was weak and dependent onthe political parties. Voluntarism is totallyabsent from the Greek public sector andhardly developed within the Church. Themain voluntary activity is channeled throughVoluntary Organizations. This article focuseson formal, private, non-profi t distributing,self-governing voluntary organizationswhose main activity is in the fi eld of socialprotection. We argue that the sector issmall and weak and has not succeeded inadapting itself to the changing environment.Membership declines and all indicatorsshow that the sector will shrivel further inthe future

The Role of the Third Sector in the Development and Implementation of Family Policy: An Overview

The Third Sector functions as a critical component in the ecosystem of social support and policy development. Its involvement in family policy is particularly noteworthy due to the sector's ability to provide innovative solutions, foster community engagement, and advocate for marginalized groups. The Third Sector contributes to family policy, by playing a significant role in advocacy, service delivery, innovation, and community engagement. This commentary, also addresses the challenges and limitations faced by Third Sector organizations in this domain

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Social Policy against Social Inequalities: The Current Landscape

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of daily human activity in both societal and political terms. Thus, it has also rapidly grown into a tool of ever-growing importance for addressing social inequalities. The increasing adoption of AI in various economical and societal aspects of daily life has significant implications for social welfare and policy development. This commentary attempts to bring the issue of the deployment of AI in social policy into the fore, examining its potential in countering and mitigating inequalities and disparities in various areas of life such as healthcare, education, and economic empowerment. There seems to be a scientific consensus that AI can be effectively utilized to mitigate social inequalities

Boosting Development through Population Growth in the Greek Periphery: The Case of Rodopi, Greece

Rodopi (Rhodope), a peripheral region in northeastern Greece, faces significant demographic challenges characterized by population decline, aging, and negative net migration. This policy brief explores these challenges and proposes a set of policy recommendations to revitalize Rodopi's demographics and stimulate regional development. The recommendations focus on attracting and retaining young people, supporting families, and promoting economic opportunities.&nbsp

Development of a Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-Based Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine Uncovers a Previously Unsuspected Viral Block of MHC Class I Antigen Presentation

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) induces a uniquely high frequency of virus-specific effector/memory CD8+ T-cells, a phenomenon termed “memory inflation”. Thus, HCMV-based vaccines are particularly interesting in order to stimulate a sustained and strong cellular immune response against cancer. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor with high lethality and inevitable relapse. The current standard treatment does not significantly improve the desperate situation underlining the urgent need to develop novel approaches. Although HCMV is highly fastidious with regard to species and cell type, GBM cell lines are susceptible to HCMV. In order to generate HCMV-based therapeutic vaccine candidates, we deleted all HCMV-encoded proteins (immunoevasins) that interfere with MHC class I presentation. The aim being to use the viral vector as an adjuvant for presentation of endogenous tumor antigens, the presentation of high levels of vector-encoded neoantigens and finally the repurposing of bystander HCMV-specific CD8+ T cells to fight the tumor. As neoantigen, we exemplarily used the E6 and E7 proteins of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) as a non-transforming fusion protein (E6/E7) that covers all relevant antigenic peptides. Surprisingly, GBM cells infected with E6/E7-expressing HCMV-vectors failed to stimulate E6-specific T cells despite high level expression of E6/E7 protein. Further experiments revealed that MHC class I presentation of E6/E7 is impaired by the HCMV-vector although it lacks all known immunoevasins. We also generated HCMV-based vectors that express E6-derived peptide fused to HCMV proteins. GBM cells infected with these vectors efficiently stimulated E6-specific T cells. Thus, fusion of antigenic sequences to HCMV proteins is required for efficient presentation via MHC class I molecules during infection. Taken together, these results provide the preclinical basis for development of HCMV-based vaccines and also reveal a novel HCMV-encoded block of MHC class I presentation

Mast cells in meningiomas and brain inflammation

BACKGROUND: Research focus in neuro-oncology has shifted in the last decades towards the exploration of tumor infiltration by a variety of immune cells and their products. T cells, macrophages, B cells, and mast cells (MCs) have been identified. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was conducted by searching PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Turning Research into Practice (TRIP) for the presence of MCs in meningiomas using the terms meningioma, inflammation and mast cells. RESULTS: MCs have been detected in various tumors of the central nervous system (CNS), such as gliomas, including glioblastoma multiforme, hemangioblastomas, and meningiomas as well as metastatic brain tumors. MCs were present in as many as 90 % of all high-grade meningiomas mainly found in the perivascular areas of the tumor. A correlation between peritumoral edema and MCs was found. INTERPRETATION: Accumulation of MCs in meningiomas could contribute to the aggressiveness of tumors and to brain inflammation that may be involved in the pathogenesis of additional disorders

Positive effect of the fluorine moiety on the oxygen storage capacity of UiO-66 metal–organic frameworks

The capacity to store oxygen and nitrogen within UiO-66 fluorine-containing MOFs has been tested through high pressure adsorption isotherms

Repair of Temporal Bone Encephalocele following Canal Wall Down Mastoidectomy

We report a rare case of a temporal bone encephalocele after a canal wall down mastoidectomy performed to treat chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma. The patient was treated successfully via an intracranial approach. An enhanced layer-by-layer repair of the encephalocele and skull base deficit was achieved from intradurally to extradurally, using temporalis fascia, nasal septum cartilage, and artificial dural graft. After a 22-month follow-up period the patient remains symptom free and no recurrence is noted