170,002 research outputs found
L’enjeu de la traduction chez Vassilis Alexakis
No full textAp. J.-C., avant-dernier roman de l’écrivain grec francophone Vassilis Alexakis, est un livre exemplaire sur la problématique de l’autotraduction. À la différence des écrivains francophones issus de la colonisation auxquels le français a été imposé, rien ne prédisposait Alexakis à écrire dans cette langue. Quelles sont les raisons qui l’ont poussé à utiliser une langue autre que sa langue maternelle pour faire carrière? Pourquoi écrit-il dans deux langues? Aborder l’oeuvre d’Alexakis sous l’angle de ce que l’on appelle l’autotraduction ne constitue pas en soi une nouveauté. Mais il semble que l’on assiste en ce moment à un retour vers le grec, puisque Ap. J.-C. a lui aussi fait l’objet d’une écriture en grec et d’une autotraduction vers le français. Quels sont les choix opérationnels effectués par l’auteur pour camper un contexte aussi éloigné que le mont Athos, autrement dit la Sainte Montagne, dans Ap. J. -C., dans le but d’atteindre des imaginaires si différents? Après un survol des personnages et de la thématique de l’oeuvre, nous tenterons, dans un premier temps, de répondre à cette question par l’analyse thématique de son ouvrage et de soulever, dans un second temps, les problèmes socio-linguistiques et culturels qui résultent du passage d’une langue à l’autre, plus précisément de l’autotraduction.Ap. J.-C., the second most recent novel by the Greek Francophone writer Vassilis Alexakis, is an important example of the issue of self-translation. Unlike Francophone writers for whom the French language was imposed during colonization, Alexakis was not predisposed to write in French. What led him to use a language other than his mother tongue in his career? Why does he write in two languages? This is not the first time that Alexakis’ work has been analyzed through the lens of what is known as self-translation. However, we are currently witnessing Alexakis’ return to Greek, as the novel Ap. J-C. was also written in Greek and self-translated into French. What are the operational choices made by the author in such a remote context as Mount Athos, also known as the Holy Mountain, in Ap. J-C., in order to create such different imaginaries? After an overview of the novel’s characters and theme, we will first try to answer this question through a thematic analysis of his work. Secondly, we will address socio-linguistic and cultural issues that arise from passing from one language to another, specifically through self-translation
Investigating the investment readiness of European SMEs: A machine learning approach
No full textThis study exploits machine learning techniques to investigate the investment readiness of European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Understanding the drivers behind SMEs' willingness to use equity capital and foster innovation is crucial for promoting economic growth. Our analysis is grounded on the Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE) released by the European Commission and the European Central Bank, which covers a vast sample of European SMEs. The empirical findings reveal that factors associated with the entrepreneurial ecosystem-such as regulatory frameworks, the availability of skilled staff, and perceived market outlook within a country-are critical drivers of investment readiness. Importantly, we find that access to debt financing and firm risk do not significantly influence SMEs' willingness to raise equity capital. Lastly, this research offers valuable insights for policymakers and equity providers, suggesting that tailored investment readiness programs that consider cultural and country-specific characteristics can unlock the full potential dynamics of European SMEs
Flight to cryptos: Evidence on the use of cryptocurrencies in times of geopolitical tensions
No full textThis paper examines trading activity in cryptocurrencies in times of geopolitical crises. Cryptocurrencies
represent speculative assets as well as payment methods. This combination of features
is not present in securities like stocks and bonds. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 93
events associated to potential limitations of a fiat currency circulation and considers five cryptos
(Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple, Dash, and Tether). We find that trading in cryptocurrencies increases with
events of geopolitical tensions. The increase in cryptocurrencies trading in times of crises can be
motivated by different explanations (e.g., protecting savings as the domestic currency devaluates,
making payments as the domestic financial system is no longer available, avoiding sanctions)
which are difficult to disentangle. A more specific analysis concerning the EU sanctions established
in 2022 on Russia shows that crypto trading slows down when crypto-related services
(wallet, account or custody services) are explicitly included in EU financial sanctions packages. A
warning about data limitations: the data set only includes trading activities conducted on
centralized exchanges (CEXs) and does not include transactions conducted on decentralized exchanges
(DEXs). Sanctions are supposed to be more effective on CEXs where the platform acts as a
custodian for trader’s asset. We also examine trading activity from the Ukranian Hrvynia to
cryptocurrencies and find a strong increase in outflow from Hrvynia since the beginning of the
conflict. This finding – which is not affected by donations of cryptos received by Ukraine from
abroad – is consistent with the hypothesis that Ukrainians increasingly exchanged their domestic
currency for cryptocurrencies
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Meteorological patterns and the evolution of West Nile virus in an environmentally stressed Mediterranean area
No full textThe present work investigates the increase of confirmed cases of West Nile virus and the relationship between weather-related patterns and the geographical expansion of West Nile virus in Greece, with a special focus on West Attica, Central Greece, a semi-arid, ecologically fragile Mediterranean area. Using data from the European Environment Agency, European Drought Observatory of Joint Research Centre, the pairwise relationship between surface air temperature anomalies, precipitation anomalies, soil moisture index anomalies, and the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation anomalies (fAPAR) was evaluated during summer time of 2018, a particularly intense virus outbreak. The empirical results of this study indicate that total precipitation during 2018 was extremely high, nearly 500% above the average. These conditions contributed to the increase of soil moisture index anomaly and fAPAR, creating an ideal microenvironment (wet soils and green pastures) for mosquito breeding. This phenomenon was directly associated with a drastic outbreak of West Nile virus cases in the area, compared with earlier years. Our results indicate how unusually high values of summer precipitation may have contributed (both through direct and indirect ecological channels) to the rapid spread of the West Nile virus in West Attica, causing a significant number of confirmed cases and fatalities. Climate change may bring forth other issues aside from natural disasters, including—but not limited to—virus expansion
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Assessment of water-induced soil erosion as a threat to cultural heritage sites: the case of Chania prefecture, Crete Island, Greece
No full textAmong the environmental threats, the intensification of natural hazards, such as soil erosion may threaten the integrity and value of cultural heritage sites. In this framework, the present study’s main objective was to identify archaeological sites susceptible by soil erosion, taking the case study of Chania prefecture in Crete Island. Remotely sensed and other available geospatial datasets were analyzed in a GIS-based empirical model, namely Unit Stream Power Erosion and Deposition (USPED), to estimate the average annual soil loss and deposition rates due to water-induced erosion in the study area. The resultant erosion map was then intersected with the locations and surrounding zones of the known archaeological sites for identifying the sites and the portions of their vicinity being at risk. The results revealed that Chania prefecture and its cultural heritage are significantly affected by both soil loss and deposition processes. Between the two processes, soil loss was found to be more intensive, influencing a larger part of the prefecture (especially to the west) as well as a higher amount of archaeological sites. The extreme and high soil loss classes were also detected to cover the most considerable portion of the sites’ surrounding area. The identification of the archaeological sites being most exposed to soil erosion hazard can constitute a basis for cultural heritage managers in order to take preventive preservation measures and develop specific risk mitigation strategies
Index C-reactive protein predicts increased severity in acute sigmoid diverticulitis
No full textAristotelis Kechagias,1,2 Anastasios Sofianidis,1 Georgios Zografos,3 Emmanouel Leandros,3 Nicholas Alexakis,3 Christos Dervenis1 1Department of Surgery, Konstantopouleion Hospital, Athens, Greece; 2Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Kanta-Häme Central Hospital, Hämeenlinna, Finland; 3First Department of Propaedeutic Surgery, Hippocratio Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece Purpose: Conservative management is successful in unperforated (Hinchey Ia) acute diverticulitis (AD) and also generally in local perforation or small abscesses (Hinchey Ib). A higher degree of radiological severity (Hinchey >Ib), ie, a larger abscess (>3–4 cm) or peritonitis, commonly requires percutaneous drainage or surgery. Retrospective studies show that high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) distinguish Hinchey Ia from all cases of minor and major perforations (Hinchey >Ia). The current study aims to evaluate the usefulness of CRP in distinguishing AD with a higher degree of severity (Hinchey >Ib) from cases that can be treated noninvasively (Hinchey Ia/Ib).Methods: Data from consecutive patients with AD were collected prospectively. All underwent computed tomography (CT). Index parameters obtained at the initial evaluation at the emergency unit were analyzed to assess the association with the outcome. The exclusion criteria comprised concomitant conditions that affected CRP baseline levels.Results: Ninety-nine patients were analyzed. Eighty-eight patients had mild radiological grading (Hinchey Ia/Ib) and eleven had severe radiological grading (Hinchey >Ib; median index CRP 80 mg/L vs 236 mg/L, P<0.001). White blood cells, neutrophils/lymphocytes, serum creatinine, serum glucose, generalized peritonitis, generalized abdominal tenderness, urinary symptoms, and index CRP were related to severe disease. Index CRP was the only independent predictor for Hinchey >Ib (P=0.038). The optimal cutoff value calculated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was found to be 173 mg/L (sensitivity 90.9%, specificity 90.9%, P<0.001). All patients who underwent radiological drainage or surgery had an index CRP >173 mg/L and Hinchey >Ib.Conclusion: CRP levels >173 mg/L obtained at the initial evaluation at the emergency unit predict major acute complications in AD. These patients commonly require urgent percutaneous drainage or surgical management.Keywords: acute diverticulitis, C-reactive protein, severity prediction, computed tomograph
A Multi-Language Comparison of Influences on Author Verification using Character N-Grams
No full textWe create a new multi-language corpus for author verification based on Wikipedia talkpages, and evaluate the influence that differences in topic and time have on character n-gram author profiles. Topic alignment between two texts is found to increase author verification precision, and an authors writing style is found to change over time, but not more significantly after 3 years than after 1 year.Information ArchitectureWISElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
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