Corfu Research Articles

Janus Lascaris on the Island of Corfu in A. D. 1491

Janus Lascaris on the Island of Corfu in A. D. 1491

Symposium, September 2002, Corfu, Greece

Symposium, September 2002, Corfu, Greece

Roman and late-antique Butrint: excavations and survey 2000-2001

The Roman and Byzantine port of Butrint, situated on the SW coast of Albania directly opposite the island of Corfu, has been the focus of a major research project since 1994. The investigation of the site and its hinterland commenced with excavations within the walled town and a survey of sites and monuments in the region (Hodges et al 1997). Despite a brief hiatus caused by civil unrest in Albania in 1997, work continued with excavation and study seasons in 1998 and 1999. The results of the first five years of the project are due to be published shortly (Hodges, Bowden and Lako, forthcoming).The second phase of the Butrint project, starting in 2000, has encompassed a wide variety of research aims. They have included extensive research on the archives of the Italian mission that conducted large-scale excavations between 1928 and 1942. Among other finds, this resulted in the discovery of the manuscript of L. Ugolini's Albania antica vol. 4, the hitherto unpublished results of the Italian excavation of the Hellenistic and Roman theatre (Gilkes, forthcoming). Other archival research has focussed on the records of the communist-period archaeological investigations, and has resulted in a much better understanding of the aims and results of these projects, which in some cases are almost wholly unpublished. Our project is also concerned with the controlled development of the site for tourism. This has resulted in the expansion of the UNESCO World Heritage site to 2900 ha and the creation of a National Park with the intent of protecting the archaeological and natural landscape around Butrint (Hodges and Martin 2000; Martin 2001). The present report is a synthesis of the first results of the major excavations of 2000 and 2001. While it is possible (and indeed likely) that interpretations may change as excavations continue, it was felt that the material was of sufficient interest to justify an interim statement.

International Conference on Emerging Technologies in Gene/Drug Therapy and Molecular Biology

Approximately 80 preclinical scientists and clinicians from Europe, North America, and Asia met at the beautiful island of Corfu for six days to discuss the latest developments in the field of molecular biology technologies related to gene therapy, application of gene delivery vectors in vivo in animal models, and clinical trials, mainly for cancer therapy. This was the fifth meeting organized by the International Society for Gene Therapy and Regulon Inc. in a relaxing atmosphere in the Greek archipelago.

Intentional childhood injuries in Greece 1996-97 - Data from a population-based Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS)

It has been gradually recognized that intentional injuries among children represent a largely hidden problem in modern societies. With the exception of mortality, population-based data from Greece have not been previously reported. To assess the magnitude and the characteristics of intentional injuries among children aged 0-14 years old, data from the population-based Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS) database during the period 1996-97 were used. EDISS relies on personal interviews with children and their escorts who contact the emergency departments of three hospitals. Two of these hospitals are district hospitals of the county of Magnesia and the island of Corfu, whereas the other is a university children's hospital that covers the Greater Athens area on alternative days. Among 46.807 children recorded in EDISS, 108 injuries (0.23%) were attributed to acts of violence. Among the 108 intentional injuries, only 11 were caused by firearms or other weapons and only 4 concerned infants. In comparison to unintentional home and leisure injuries, intentional childhood injuries increase significantly with age and they are more common among migrant children. They occur more frequently during late night and early morning hours, they are more serious, and they are more often multiple and concentrated on the head. In Greece. a problem of violence directed against children does exist. The actual magnitude of this problem is difficult to estimate, but its size appears to be smaller in comparison with that reported in other populations.

From charting to mapping: Russian military mapping of Corfu in the early nineteenth century

This paper concludes the overview of the Russian Navy's chart making published in Imago Mundi, Volume 52 (2000). In the present paper attention is drawn to the way the emphasis shifted in the early years of the nineteenth century from charting by naval surveyors to land mapping by the Army. The need for specialized military topographical education had led to the founding of the Map Depot in 1797 in St Petersburg. The first major survey undertaken by the Depot was of the island of Corfu (1804–1806), in anticipation of further Russo‐Turkish hostilities (the Third Russo‐Turkish war, 1806–1812).

Η ΑΓΓΑΡΕΙΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΟΨΙΜΟ ΜΕΣΑΙΩΝΑ

The author deals with the ancient institution of angaria (labour service) as it wasapplied in the Greek island of Corfu during the late middle ages, when Corfu, aformer byzantine province, was dominated by the Angevins of Naples (1272-1386)and then by Venice (1386-1797). Two basic types of angaria are discerned, oneclaimed by the fisc from the tax-payers, the other by the landowners from thetenants. The mechanisms used for the accomplishment of the angaria, the impactof the obligatory angaria of both types on the social status of the population, as wellas the social differentiation effected by the privileges of exemption from theangaria, are some aspects of that institution examined in this study, which iscompleted with the publication of three documents concerning privileges ofexception from the angaria.

Litthabitella chilodia (Westerlund, 1886) in Italy (Gastropoda : Prosobranchia : Hydrobiidae)

Bythinella opaca pollinensis Bacci (1952) is herein regarded as a junior synonym of Litthabitella chilodia (Westerlund, 1886). Litthabitella Boeters, 1970, is a genus of hydrobiid prosobranchs characterized by: penis apex bifid, divided into apical lobe and tip of penis proper; one–four irregularly shaped glandular swellings on ventral side of apical lobe and penis close to base of lobe; well developed bursa copulatrix; two seminal receptacles, proximal (RS2) smaller than distal (RS1). At present it includes only the type species L. chilodia present in the western Balkans, Ionian islands and southern Italy. Paludinella elliptica Paladilhe, 1874, from the Pyrenees, once attributed to Litthabitella, still has uncertain taxonomic relationships. The current subdivision of L. chilodia into L. chilodia chilodia and L. chilodia ionica (Schutt, 1980) is rejected. Examination of the type material of the latter from the island of Corfu, showed that it includes two different taxa, one of which (the holotype) is a species of Belgrandia and the other L. chilodia. Due to the absence of anatomical data, the taxonomic status of Belgrandia ionica (Schutt, 1980) is still uncertain. Italian populations of L. chilodia are characterized by wide variation in shell shape and size and one population, living in a small brook in the cave Grotta del Tasso in Apulia, has two distinct coexisting shell morphs, almost without intermediates.

Sandflies on the island of Corfu, Greece.

The island of Corfu is an endemic area of human leishmaniasis, mainly visceral and secondly cutaneous. In August 1996, a survey of phlebotomine sandflies was conducted throughout the whole island. Using castor-oil paper traps, a total of 2,615 sandflies were caught. The following species were identified: 450 (17.21%) Phlebotomus neglectus, 213 (8.15%) P. tobbi, 129 (4.93%) P. perfiliewi, 12 (0.46%) P. sergenti, 11 (0.42%) P. simici, 4 (0.15%) P. papatasi, 999 (38.20%) Sergentomyia minuta and 797 (30.48%) S. dentata. Among the potential vectors of Leishmania spp., P. neglectus, P. tobbi and P. perfiliewi, were the most widespread species on the island. However, a decrease of the population density of sandflies compared to previous entomological studies was observed.

New and noteworthy lichen records from the Ionian island of Kerkira (Corfu), Greece.

Christensen, S. N., Pisut, I. & Sipman, H. J. M.: New and noteworthy lichen records from the Ionian island of Kerkira (Corfu), Greece. − Willdenowia 27: 265−272. 1997. − ISSN 0511−9618. Thirty-six lichen taxa are reported from Kerkira. Of these, nine taxa are new to Greece, namely Anthracocarpon virescens, Bactrospora patellarioides var. convexa, Gyalecta derivata, G. truncigena, Lecania koerberiana, Leptogium subtile, Opegrapha vulgata, Parmelia subrudecta, and Phaeophyscia hirsuta, and twelve taxa are new to Kerkira.

The reliability of reported depths of some earthquake sequences in Northwestern Greece (Epirus and Corfu Island) and the geodynamic situation of the area

The study of the earthquakes of the rectangle with coordinates 39°-40°N 19°-21°E is very important for a better understanding of the geodynamics of this area. In and near this zone, the subduction of the Aegean arc stops, and northward, going to the Albanian coast, the confrontation between the Adria microplate and the Albanian orogen is probably of collisional type. In this approach based on records of Greek seismological stations situated in this area as well as southern stations of the Albanian Seismological Network (ASN), the depth of the earthquakes of some sequences that occurred recently in this zone is carefully investigated. Some records of Southern Albanian seismological stations resulting from earthquakes with the same epicentral zone but reported with different depth are compared. The importance of detailed studies of this zone is stressed to shed light on the geodynamics of a key segment of the northwestern end of the Aegean arc.

Alcohol use and abuse in patients suffering from schizophrenic disorders in Corfu island

Alcohol use and abuse in patients suffering from schizophrenic disorders in Corfu island

Role of black fungi in color change and biodeterioration of antique marbles

Blackening of rock and architectural surfaces by soot and dust has attracted attention of scientists and conservators for some time. Blackening of such substrates by dematiaceous yeastlike fungi, however, has practically never been reported so far. Black fungi and especially meristematically growing yeastlike forms have been known instead as human, animal, and plant pathogenic organisms. Recently we found and isolated such fungi in numerous instances from antique marble and historical limestone buildings at the Acropolis of Athens, the island of Corfu, and from sites in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Crimea, Spain, and Namibia. The so‐called black yeast are slow‐growing and difficult to isolate and identify. Infield observations, culture experiments on marble slices, and further analyses by SEM and EPR, we demonstrated that black fungi play an important role in the destruction of marble and limestone. They are ubiquitous on monuments under certain climatic and microclimatic conditions. The fungi can be...

Phosphoglucomutase in phlebotomine sandflies of the subgenus Larroussius from Corfu Island, Greece

Phosphoglucomutase in phlebotomine sandflies of the subgenus Larroussius from Corfu Island, Greece

Isolation and typing of Leishmania infantum from Phlebotomus neglectus on the island of Corfu, Greece

Isolation and typing of Leishmania infantum from Phlebotomus neglectus on the island of Corfu, Greece

Chemistry of Multiphase Atmospheric Systems

This book contains the lectures and research papers presented at a NATO Advanced Study Institute on chemistry of multiphase atmospheric systems, which was held on the island of Corfu (Greece) in fall 1983. The objectives of a NATO Advanced Study Institute are, in the words of the NATO Scientific Committee, to “disseminate advanced knowledge not yet taught in regular university courses; leading international experts teach postdoctoral students experienced researchers and discuss recent research results.”

Le virus corfou: Un nouveau Phlebovirusisolé de phlébotomes en Grèce

Summary A new Phlebovirus isolated from Phlebotomus major collected on the island of Corfu, in Greece, is described. This virus is antigenically closely related to the Sicilian type, of which it can be separated only by the plaque reduction test. The particularities of the transmission of the sandfly fever group of viruses in the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin are briefly discussed. For the designation of this agent, we propose the name «Corfou virus.

Operating experiences of a 15,000 cubic meter per day municipal desalting plant at Corfu, Greece

The initial eighteen month period of operation of the 15,000 m 3/day municipal plant on the Island of Corfu, Greece, is described. The 15,000 m 3/day desalting plant employing the electrodialysis reversal process (EDR) produces potable water (500 ppm) from a blend of brackish sources with salinities up to 2000 ppm TDS. The paper describes the plant and integration of the plant into the municipal system. The unique system employed to segregate the treatment of the different brackish waters employing only the highest salinity water for blowdown water is also described. The plant was started up in the fall of 1977 and provided water to the municipal system during the 1978 season. The paper presents operating cost data for this period and compares these costs with projected costs which form part of the contractual agreement, with the Municipality.

The Karyotypes of Two Dugesia Species from Corfu, Greece (Platyhelminthes, Turbellaria)

Dugesia gonocephala (Dugès, 1830) and D. polychroa (Schmidt, 1861), collected from the Greek island of Corfu, have been investigated karyologically. The former is a sexual diploid (2n = 16) in which all the chromosomes are metacentric. The latter is a sexual diploid (2n = 8) with one submetacentric and three metacentric chromosome pairs.

Statistics and Archaeology: Reply to Johnson

that This demonstrates that stunted growth and anemia are related to poverty and not to race (1970:741). Related documentation on the lack of a correlation between race, intelligence, and accomplishment is being gathered by my colleague, Drexel Peterson, here at Memphis State. The influence of biocultural determinants upon dietary options and, therefore, upon nutritional levels was indirectly observed during my research on the wild plant gathering practices of the traditional peasants of Corfu, Greece (Sordinas 1971). My data have shown that the traditional peasants depended highly on a poor diet which they themselves despised. However, as long as the traditional peasants remained shackled in an economic setting offering negligible options these dietary practices were the cultural norm. And it is well documented that, for instance, pre-World War II peasants on the island of Corfu seldom ate meat.