Molecular identification of tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected from dogs and small ruminants from Greece.

PubMed

Chaligiannis, Ιlias; Fernández de Mera, Isabel G; Papa, Anna; Sotiraki, Smaragda; de la Fuente, José

2018-04-01

Ticks are vectors for a variety of human and animal pathogens (bacteria, protozoa and viruses). In order to investigate the pathogens carried by ticks in Greece, a total of 179 adult ticks (114 female and 65 male) were collected from domestic animals (sheep, goats and dogs) from 14 prefectures of six regions of Greece. Among them, 40 were Dermacentor marginatus, 25 Haemaphysalis parva, 22 H. sulcata, one H. punctata, 13 Ixodes gibbosus, 77 Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. and one R. bursa. All ticks were tested for the presence of DNA of Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp., Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia spp. and Theileria spp. The collected ticks were examined by PCR and reverse line blot (RLB) assay. A prevalence of 20.1% for Anaplasma spp., 15.6% for Babesia spp. (identifying B. bigemina, B. divergens, B. ovis and B. crassa), 17.9% for C. burnetii, 15.1% for Rickettsia spp., and 21.2% for Theileria spp. (identifying T. annulata, T. buffeli/orientalis, T. ovis and T. lestoquardi) was found. The results of this study demonstrate the variety of tick-borne pathogens of animal and human importance circulating in Greece, and that awareness is needed to minimize the risk of infection, especially among farmers and pet owners.

Sex discrepancies in COPD patients and burden of the disease in females: a nationwide study in Greece (Greek Obstructive Lung Disease Epidemiology and health ecoNomics: GOLDEN study)

PubMed Central

Papaioannou, Andriana I; Bania, Eleni; Alexopoulos, Evangelos C; Mitsiki, Eirini; Malli, Foteini; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos I

2014-01-01

Background The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in females appears to be increasing. Recent studies have revealed that the percentage of women with COPD in Greece is approximately 12.5%. Aims To evaluate the burden of COPD among males and females in Greece through a nationwide cross-sectional survey and to explore sex differences regarding functional characteristics and exacerbation frequency. Methods Data collection was completed in a 6-month period. The present study followed a nationwide sampling approach of respiratory medicine physicians. The sampling approach included three steps: 1) estimation of expected incidence and prevalence of COPD cases in each prefecture of Greece and in total; 2) estimation of expected incidence of COPD cases per physician in each prefecture; and 3) creation of a frame of three different sampling zones. Following this sampling, data were provided by 199 respiratory physicians. Results The participating physicians provided data from 6,125 COPD patients. Female patients represented 28.7% of the study participants. Female COPD patients were, on average, 5 years younger than male COPD patients. Never smokers accounted for 9.4% within female patients, compared to 2.7% of males (P<0.001). Female patients were characterized by milder forms of the disease. Comorbidities were more prevalent in men, with the exception of gastroesophageal reflux (14.6% versus 17.1% for men and women, respectively, P=0.013). Female COPD patients had a higher expected number of outpatient visits per year (by 8.9%) than males (P<0.001), although hospital admissions did not differ significantly between sexes (P=0.116). Females had fewer absences from work due to COPD per year, by 19.0% (P<0.001), compared to males. Conclusion The differences observed between male and female COPD patients provide valuable information which could aid the prevention and management of COPD in Greece. PMID:24600217

Measuring the efficiency of the Greek rural primary health care using a restricted DEA model; the case of southern and western Greece.

PubMed

Oikonomou, Nikolaos; Tountas, Yannis; Mariolis, Argiris; Souliotis, Kyriakos; Athanasakis, Kostas; Kyriopoulos, John

2016-12-01

This is a study to measure the efficiency of the rural Health Centres (HCs) and their Regional Surgeries (RSs) of the 6th Health Prefecture (HP) of Greece, which covers Southern and Western Greece. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was applied under Constant and Variable Returns to Scale, using a weight-restricted, output-oriented model, to calculate pure technical efficiency (PΤΕ), scale efficiency (SE) and total technical efficiency (TE). The selection of inputs, outputs and their relative weights in the model was based on two consecutive consensus panels of experts on Primary Health Care (PHC). Medical personnel, nursing personnel and technological equipment were chosen as inputs and were attributed appropriate weight restrictions. Acute, chronic and preventive consultations where chosen as outputs; each output was constructed by smaller subcategories of different relative importance. Data were collected through a questionnaire sent to all HCs of the covered area. From the 42 HCs which provided complete data, the study identified 9 as technical efficient, 5 as scale efficient and 2 as total efficient. The mean TE, PTE and SE scores of the HCs of the 6th Health Prefecture were 0.57, 0.67 and 0.87, respectively. The results demonstrate noteworthy variation in efficiency in the productive process of the HCs of Southern and Western Greece. The dominant form of inefficiency was technical inefficiency. The HCs of the 6th HP can theoretically produce 33 % more output on average, using their current production factors. These results indicated potential for considerable efficiency improvement in most rural health care units. Emphasis on prevention and chronic disease management, as well as wider structural and organisational reforms, are discussed from the viewpoint of how to increase efficiency.

Spatial analysis of electricity demand patterns in Greece: Application of a GIS-based methodological framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyralis, Hristos; Mamassis, Nikos; Photis, Yorgos N.

2016-04-01

We investigate various uses of electricity demand in Greece (agricultural, commercial, domestic, industrial use as well as use for public and municipal authorities and street lightning) and we examine their relation with variables such as population, total area, population density and the Gross Domestic Product. The analysis is performed on data which span from 2008 to 2012 and have annual temporal resolution and spatial resolution down to the level of prefecture. We both visualize the results of the analysis and we perform cluster and outlier analysis using the Anselin local Moran's I statistic as well as hot spot analysis using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. The definition of the spatial patterns and relationships of the aforementioned variables in a GIS environment provides meaningful insight and better understanding of the regional development model in Greece and justifies the basis for an energy demand forecasting methodology. Acknowledgement: This research has been partly financed by the European Union (European Social Fund - ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: ARISTEIA II: Reinforcement of the interdisciplinary and/ or inter-institutional research and innovation (CRESSENDO project; grant number 5145).

Greece.

PubMed

1985-04-01

A brief description of the population characteristics, geographical features, history, current political situation, economy, energy supply, foreign relations of Greece is presented. Greece's population of 9.95 million is 98% Greek, and the official language is Greek. 97% of the population is Greek Orthodox, and 2% is Muslim. Schooling is compulsory for 9 years, and the literacy rate is 89% for women and 96% for men. The infant mortality rate is 13.8, and life expectancy is 72 years for males and 75 years for female. Greece is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula and consists of the mainland, the Peleponnesos, and numerous islands including Crete. Most of the land mass is mountainous, large areas are dry, and only 28% of the land is arable. From the earliest time until recently, emigration from Greece to other countries was a common pattern. Since the 1960s, internal migration to urban areas was the dominant migration trend. Currently, 30% of the population lives in Athens. Despite the growing industrialization and urbanization of the population, the Greeks retain many traditional family and social values. Greece was part of the cradle of civilization, and its history is characterized by the rise of the Minoan culture on Crete, the rise and fall of the Myceneans on the Peleponnesos, the development of the city states of Athens and Sparta, the destruction of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, domination by the Macedonians, the creation of the Hellenistic cilivization, conquest by the Roman Empire, the establishment of the Byzantine Empire, and in 1459 conquest by the Ottoman Empire. In the 1820's Greece fought for and finally won its independence, In World War I Greece fought on the side of the Allies. In World War II, the Greeks successfully resisted an invasion from Italy. In 1941, the country was taken over by the Germans, but the Greek resistance movement continued to fight the Germans until liberation. Between 1944-49, there were 2 unsuccessful

Appendicectomies in Albanians in Greece: outcomes in a highly mobile immigrant patient population

PubMed Central

2001-01-01

Background Albanian immigrants in Greece comprise a highly mobile population with unknown health care profile. We aimed to assess whether these immigrants were more or less likely to undergo laparotomy for suspected appendicitis with negative findings (negative appendicectomy), by performing a controlled study with individual (1:4) matching. We used data from 6 hospitals in the Greek prefecture of Epirus that is bordering Albania. Results Among a total of 2027 non-incidental appendicectomies for suspected appendicitis performed in 1994-1999, 30 patients with Albanian names were matched (for age, sex, time of operation and hospital) to 120 patients with Greek names. The odds for a negative appendicectomy were 3.4-fold higher (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-9.31, p = 0.02) in Albanian immigrants than in matched Greek-name subjects. The difference was most prominent in men (odds ratio 20.0, 95% CI, 1.41-285, p = 0.02) while it was not formally significant in women (odds ratio 1.56, 95% CI, 0.44-5.48). The odds for perforation were 1.25-fold higher in Albanian-name immigrants than in Greek-name patients (95% CI 0.44- 3.57). Conclusions Albanian immigrants in Greece are at high risk for negative appendicectomies. Socioeconomic, cultural and language parameters underlying health care inequalities in highly mobile immigrant populations need better study. PMID:11472640

Design of prospective study of acute coronary syndrome hospitalization after smoking ban in public places in Hyogo prefecture: comparison with Gifu, a prefecture without a public smoking ban.

PubMed

Sato, Yukihito; Minatoguchi, Shinya; Nishigaki, Kazuhiko; Hirata, Ken-ichi; Masuyama, Tohru; Furukawa, Yutaka; Uematsu, Masaaki; Yoshikawa, Junichi; Otsuji, Satoru; Iida, Mami; Fujiwara, Hisayoshi

2014-02-01

Hyogo is the second prefecture, after Kanagawa, to enact a smoking ban in public places in Japan. The effect of this smoking ban on acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has not been evaluated. Changes in the annual number of ACS hospital cases in Hyogo Prefecture, before and after the enactment of the prefectural legislative ban on smoking in public places, are to be compared with those in Gifu Prefecture, where there is no smoking-ban legislation. Consecutive Hyogo residents with ACS, admitted to 33 major hospitals in the Hanshin-Awaji-Kobe district, which covers 56% of the population, during the 12 months before implementation of the legislation (April 2012 through March 2013) and during the same 24 months thereafter (April 2013 through March 2015) will be enrolled. Consecutive patients with ACS, who are Gifu residents, treated at the 20 major hospitals in Gifu Prefecture will be enrolled as geographical controls. The primary endpoint is the change in number of ACS admissions from April 2012 through March 2015, considering the periods before and after the smoking-ban legislation in Hyogo prefecture. Our study has certain strengths: (1) This is the first large Japanese study of ACS registry with smoking-ban legislation. (2) Major hospitals in the Hanshin-Awaji-Kobe district are included. (3) The data will cover 3 years including 1 year before legislation enactment. (4) The data will be compared with those of Gifu Prefecture, where smoking-ban legislation will not be enacted. (5) The very large database makes possible analysis of subgroups based on age and gender. Copyright © 2013 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ANALYSIS FOR HOUSE DAMAGE PROPERTY OF 2007 MID-NIIGATA PREFECTURE OFFSHORE EARTHQUAKE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ochiai, Hirokazu; Yamada, Kento; Ohtsuka, Satoru; Isobe, Koichi

This paper reports the result of correlation analysis for house damage in 2007 Mid-piigata prefecture offshore earthquake by focusing geomorphological land classification and other factors as landform and ground properties with organizing the house damage data of disaster victim certificate conducted by public administrations. In former part of the paper, the features of house damage at 2007 Mid-Niigata prefecture offshore earthquake were analyzed for various influencing factors. The authors discussed the affrecting factors to houses at earthquake. In latter part, the features of house damage at 2007 Mid-Niigata prefecture offshore earthquake was discussed with that at 2004 Mid-Niigata prefecture earthquake. The house damage function of distance from the epicenter was proposed based on the analysis on house damage ratio recorded in two earthquakes.

Pathology in Greece.

PubMed

Sakellariou, S; Patsouris, E

2015-11-01

Pathology is the field of medicine that studies diseases. Ancient Greece hosted some of the earliest societies that laid the structural foundations of pathology. Initially, knowledge was based on observations but later on the key elements of pathology were established based on the dissection of animals and the autopsy of human cadavers. Christianized Greece under Ottoman rule (1453-1821) was not conducive to the development of pathology. After liberation, however, a series of events took place that paved the way for the establishment and further development of the specialty. The appointment in 1849 of two Professors of Pathology at the Medical School of Athens for didactical purposes proved to be the most important step in fostering the field of pathology in modern Greece. Presently in Greece there are seven university departments and 74 pathology laboratories in public hospitals, employing 415 specialized pathologists and 90 residents. The First Department of Pathology at the Medical School of Athens University is the oldest (1849) and largest in Greece, encompassing most pathology subspecialties.

Determination of pesticides and toxic potency of rainwater samples in western Greece.

PubMed

Rouvalis, Angela; Karadima, Constantina; Zioris, Ioannis V; Sakkas, Vasilios A; Albanis, Triantafyllos; Iliopoulou-Georgudaki, Joan

2009-03-01

Rainwater samples from four municipalities located in Achaia Prefecture, Greece, were collected from March to September 2006. The toxic potency of pollutants present in 36 rainwater samples was tested using Daphnia pulex. The pesticide determination was conducted with GC-MS. Only phosphamidon was detected, which appeared in 52% and 13% of the rural and urban areas, respectively. The toxicity of rainwater was determined in 52% and 46.7% of the rural and urban area samples, respectively. Chemical analyses showed that in rural areas, the PO(4)(3-) ions had higher concentrations than in urban areas. On the other hand, the SO(4)(2-), NO(-)(3), and NO(-)(2) anions are more highly concentrated in urban areas. Correlation analysis proved that the toxicity of the rainwater samples is moderate, affected by the presence of the insecticide only in the rural areas. The results indicated that toxicity can be directly assessed via bioassays, even when unknown pollutants are present.

Economic crisis, austerity and unmet healthcare needs: the case of Greece.

PubMed

Zavras, Dimitris; Zavras, Athanasios I; Kyriopoulos, Ilias-Ioannis; Kyriopoulos, John

2016-07-27

The programme for fiscal consolidation in Greece has led to income decrease and several changes in health policy. In this context, this study aims to assess how economic crisis affected unmet healthcare needs in Greece. Time series analysis was performed for the years 2004 through 2011 using the EU-SILC database. The dependent variable was the percentage of people who had medical needs but did not use healthcare services. Median income, unemployment and time period were used as independent variables. We also compared self-reported unmet healthcare needs drawn from a national survey conducted in pre-crisis 2006 with a similar survey from 2011 (after the onset of the crisis). A common questionnaire was used in both years to assess unmet healthcare needs, including year of survey, gender, age, health status, chronic disease, educational level, income, employment, health insurance status, and prefecture. The outcome of interest was unmet healthcare needs due to financial reasons. Ordinary least squares, as well as logistic regression analysis were conducted to analyze the results. Unmet healthcare needs increased after the enactment of austerity measures, while the year of participation in the survey was significantly associated with unmet healthcare needs. Income, educational level, employment status, and having insurance, private or public, were also significant determinants of unmet healthcare needs due to financial reasons. The adverse economic environment has significantly affected unmet health needs. Therefore health policy actions and social policy measures are essential in order to mitigate the negative impact on access to healthcare services and health status.

Stroke Incidence and Outcomes in Northeastern Greece: The Evros Stroke Registry.

PubMed

Tsivgoulis, Georgios; Patousi, Athanasia; Pikilidou, Maria; Birbilis, Theodosis; Katsanos, Aristeidis H; Mantatzis, Michalis; Asimis, Aristeidis; Papanas, Nikolaos; Skendros, Panagiotis; Terzoudi, Aikaterini; Karamanli, Aikaterini; Kouroumichakis, Ioannis; Zebekakis, Pantelis; Maltezos, Efstratios; Piperidou, Charitomeni; Vadikolias, Konstantinos; Heliopoulos, Ioannis

2018-02-01

Data are scarce on both stroke incidence rates and outcomes in Greece and in rural areas in particular. We performed a prospective population-based study evaluating the incidence of first-ever stroke in the Evros prefecture, a region of a total 147 947 residents located in North Eastern Greece. Adult patients with first-ever stroke were registered during a 24-month period (2010-2012) and followed up for 12 months. To compare our stroke incidence with that observed in other studies, we standardized our incidence rate data according to the European Standard Population, World Health Organization, and Segi population. We also applied criteria of data quality proposed by the Monitoring Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease project. Stroke diagnosis and classification were performed using World Health Organization criteria on the basis of neuroimaging and autopsy data. We prospectively documented 703 stroke cases (mean age: 75±12 years; 52.8% men; ischemic stroke: 80.8%; intracerebral hemorrhage: 11.8%; subarachnoid hemorrhage: 4.4%; undefined: 3.0%) with a total follow-up time of 119 805 person-years. The unadjusted and European Standard Population-adjusted incidences of all strokes were 586.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 543.4-630.2) and 534.1 (95% CI, 494.6-573.6) per 100 000 person-years, respectively. The unadjusted incidence rates for ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage were 474.1 (95% CI, 435-513), 69.3 (95% CI, 54-84), and 25.9 (95% CI, 17-35) per 100 000 person-years, respectively. The corresponding European Standard Population-adjusted incidence rates per 100 000 person-years were 425.9 (95% CI, 390.9-460.9), 63.3 (95% CI, 49.7-76.9), and 25.8 (95% CI, 16.7-34.9) for ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage, respectively. The overall 28-day case fatality rate was 21.3% (95% CI, 18.3%-24.4%) for all strokes and was higher in hemorrhagic strokes than ischemic stroke (40

The national financial adjustment policy and the equalisation of health levels among prefectures.

PubMed

Takano, T; Nakamura, K

2001-10-01

The objectives of this study were to examine (1) trends concerning financial assistance from the national government to local governments, (2) trends regarding death rates and life expectancies among prefectures, and (3) the effect of the national financial adjustment policy in equalising both the revenues of local governments and variations in the health levels among prefectures in terms of death rates and life expectancies. The study analysed prefectural income, the amount of national taxes collected, financial assistance from the national government to local governments, and age adjusted death rates and life expectancies of all of the prefectures in Japan during the period from 1965 through 1995. (1) Under the financial adjustment policy, financial assistance from the national government to the local governments, which consists of the sum of the local allocation tax and treasury disbursements, increased from 1831 billion yen in 1965 to 31 116 billion yen in 1995. (2) During the same period, the age adjusted death rate per 100 000 people decreased from 1168.9 (1965) to 545.3 (1995). The range of variation in the age adjusted death rate among prefectures diminished as the coefficient of variation of the death rate declined from 0.060 in 1965 to 0.043 in 1995. (3) There was a significant statistical correlation between higher prefectural incomes and lower mortality rates during from 1965 until 1975 (p < 0.05), whereas this correlation was indistinct in the 1980s and has not been observed since 1990. (4) The relative health level of Tokyo has declined in terms of its ranking among all the prefectures with regard to life expectancy, from being the best in 1965 to below average in 1995. The national financial adjustment policy to balance the revenues of local governments has increased the health levels of rural prefectures. It is probable that the policy reduced the disparity in death rates and life expectancies among prefectures throughout the country. However, the

Resources for business continuity in disaster-based hospitals in the great East Japan earthquake: survey of Miyagi Prefecture disaster base hospitals and the prefectural disaster medicine headquarters.

PubMed

Kudo, Daisuke; Furukawa, Hajime; Nakagawa, Atsuhiro; Yamanouchi, Satoshi; Koido, Yuichi; Matsumura, Takashi; Abe, Yoshiko; Konishi, Ryota; Matoba, Masaaki; Tominaga, Teiji; Kushimoto, Shigeki

2013-10-01

To clarify advance measures for business continuity taken by disaster base hospitals involved in the Great East Japan Earthquake. The predisaster situation regarding stockpiles was abstracted from a 2010 survey. Timing of electricity and water restoration and sufficiency of supplies to continue operations were investigated through materials from Miyagi Prefecture disaster medicine headquarters (prefectural medical headquarters) and disaster base hospitals (14 hospitals) in Miyagi Prefecture after the East Japan earthquake. The number of hospitals with less than 1 day of stockpiles in reserve before the disaster was 7 (50%) for electricity supplies, 8 (57.1%) for water, 6 (42.9%) for medical goods, and 6 (42.9%) for food. After the disaster, restoration of electricity and water did not occur until the second day or later at 8 of 13 (61.5%) hospitals, respectively. By the fourth postdisaster day, 14 hospitals had requested supplies from the prefectural medical headquarters: 9 (64.3%) for electricity supplies, 2 (14.3%) for water trucks, 9 (64.3%) for medical goods, and 6 (42.9%) for food. The lack of supplies needed to continue operations in disaster base hospitals following the disaster clearly indicated that current business continuity plans require revision.

A Case Study of the High School Entrance Examination in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, David M.

1990-01-01

Examines the role of the Japanese prefecture (a regional government unit analogous to U.S. states) in school administration through a case study of the Chiba prefectural board of education's role in administering the high school entrance examination. Finds that the examination stratifies students into an educational hierarchy. (NL)

Epidemiology of Epidemic Ebola Virus Disease in Conakry and Surrounding Prefectures, Guinea, 2014-2015.

PubMed

Rico, Adriana; Brody, Debra; Coronado, Fátima; Rondy, Marc; Fiebig, Lena; Carcelen, Andrea; Deyde, Varough M; Mesfin, Samuel; Retzer, Kyla D; Bilivogui, Pepe; Keita, Sakoba; Dahl, Benjamin A

2016-02-01

In 2014, Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa was first reported during March in 3 southeastern prefectures in Guinea; from there, the disease rapidly spread across West Africa. We describe the epidemiology of EVD cases reported in Guinea's capital, Conakry, and 4 surrounding prefectures (Coyah, Dubreka, Forecariah, and Kindia), encompassing a full year of the epidemic. A total of 1,355 EVD cases, representing ≈40% of cases reported in Guinea, originated from these areas. Overall, Forecariah had the highest cumulative incidence (4× higher than that in Conakry). Case-fatality percentage ranged from 40% in Conakry to 60% in Kindia. Cumulative incidence was slightly higher among male than female residents, although incidences by prefecture and commune differed by sex. Over the course of the year, Conakry and neighboring prefectures became the EVD epicenter in Guinea.

2014 Anthrax epidemic in Koubia prefecture, Guinea-Conakry.

PubMed

Sow, M S; Boushab, M B; Balde, H; Camara, A; Sako, F B; Traoré, F A; Diallo, M O S; Diallo, M D; Keita, M; Sylla, A O; Tounkara, T M; Cissé, M

2016-11-01

Anthrax disease is an anthropozoonosis caused by a Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. Our objective was to describe the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic features of the 2014 epidemic in Koubia prefecture. This retrospective study examined all of the anthrax cases reported in Fafaya, Koubia Prefecture. In March and April 2014, there were 39 cases of human anthrax reported, for an incidence of 1.135%. The mean age was 20.9 (± 18.3) with a sex ratio of 2.54 (28/11) in favor of men. Seventy-six percent (23/39) were single. More than one half were students (53.8%). The main clinical signs were fever in 71, 8% (n = 28 /), papules 59% (n = 23), vesicles of 59% (n = 23) Digestive and cutaneous signs represented 35.9 % and 64.1% respectively; 35% had ingested contaminated meat and 17.95% were in direct contact with a sick animal. We didn't find any correlation between the mode of infection and onset of signs. The fatality rate was 28.21%. The 2014 epidemic of anthrax disease in the Koubia prefecture was marked by a high incidence and lethality. Clinical manifestations were cutaneaous and digestive. These results may serve further interventions to fight against anthrax disease. They should mainly focus on an awareness of peasants, surveillance and vaccination of cattle. Other studies seem to be necessary.

Trends in suicide mortality in the deprived region of Epirus (north-west Greece) during the period 1998-2002.

PubMed

Vougiouklakis, Theodore; Boumba, Vassiliki A; Mitselou, Antigony; Peschos, Dimitrios; Gerontopoulos, Kyriakos

2005-01-01

This study determines the risk factors associated with suicide rates and the investigation of time trends in the deprived region of Epirus, north-west Greece, which is considered to be one of the least developed prefectures of the EU. Data selected demonstrated: (1) a mean age-standardized suicide rate per year of 4.00/100,000 for males, 1.29/100,000 for females and 2.65/100,000 for the total population; (2) a significant rising trend of male suicides in the 35-44 and 65-74 age groups; (3) a low female suicide rate in < 35 years age group and a relatively stable rate in the other age groups; (4) a significantly higher suicide rate in men than in women from both urban and rural areas and in older men from rural areas; (5) higher rates of suicide among widowed men and unmarried women; (6) the use of predominantly violent suicide methods, especially self-shooting, hanging and drowning; (7) a significant peak in the total suicide rate in the spring and summer months and a decreased rate in September; and (8) three out of four of the suicide victims had consumed alcohol and/or other drugs before the act. Data reported here shows some remarkable trends compared to previous reports on suicide in Greece and other countries, probably due to cultural and life style characteristics of the study population.

Marginal sites in for biomass production - case study sites in northern Greece. Obstacles and solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiourtsis, Fotios; Keramitzis, Dimitris; Papatheodorou, Ioannis; Tsoulakaki, Dimitra; Gontzaridou, Marina; Lampetsou, Eugenia; Fragkiskakis, Nikitas; Gerwin, Werner; Repmann, Frank; Baumgarten, Wibke

2017-04-01

In 2016, D.A.M.T, the Hellenic Forest Service for northern Greece (Macedonia and Thrace Regions), with the support of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg Reseach Center Landscape Development and Mining Landscapes experts and following common standard protocols of the SEEMLA project, established three plots, in the northeastern part of Greece, in Rodopi prefecture (main forest species for biomass production: Pinus Nigra, Pinus Brutia and Robinia Pseudacacia). Nearby productive ecosystems (including forests etc.) or successional sites will be used as references for estimating the potentials of MagL. Further existing plantations of energy crops on similar MagL, will be used to assess potential crop yields. These plots represent different types of marginal lands, they were specifically selected for SEEMLA purposes (reliable and sustainable exploitation of biomass) and are entirely different from other inventories, used for typical forest operations in Greece. The main differences are:  an intensively studied core area,  Soil Quality Rating (SQR) method measurements,  Soil Classification Maps - parameters estimation (land capability classes and landforms),  tightly spaced plantations (1,5 m x 1,5 m),  cropping systems,  shorter rotations and  the need for special forest management study. The combination of these requirements with the soil conditions of the area has created significant issues on plots establishment and accurate recording of supply chain stages. Main expected SEEMLA impacts are: • provide a substantial amount of EU energy needs from marginal/degraded land, • avoidance of land use conflicts by strengthening the ability to use MagL for biomass production for energy, • reduction of EU-wide greenhouse gas, • mitigation of conflicts regarding sustainability and biodiversity for the utilization of MagL for biomass production, • growth of plantations of bioenergy carriers from MagL at competitive costs, • expansion of economic opportunities

Epidemiology of Epidemic Ebola Virus Disease in Conakry and Surrounding Prefectures, Guinea, 2014–2015

PubMed Central

Brody, Debra; Coronado, Fátima; Rondy, Marc; Fiebig, Lena; Carcelen, Andrea; Deyde, Varough M.; Mesfin, Samuel; Retzer, Kyla D.; Bilivogui, Pepe; Keita, Sakoba; Dahl, Benjamin A.

2016-01-01

In 2014, Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa was first reported during March in 3 southeastern prefectures in Guinea; from there, the disease rapidly spread across West Africa. We describe the epidemiology of EVD cases reported in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, and 4 surrounding prefectures (Coyah, Dubreka, Forecariah, and Kindia), encompassing a full year of the epidemic. A total of 1,355 EVD cases, representing ≈40% of cases reported in Guinea, originated from these areas. Overall, Forecariah had the highest cumulative incidence (4× higher than that in Conakry). Case-fatality percentage ranged from 40% in Conakry to 60% in Kindia. Cumulative incidence was slightly higher among male than female residents, although incidences by prefecture and commune differed by sex. Over the course of the year, Conakry and neighboring prefectures became the EVD epicenter in Guinea. PMID:26812047

Adult Education in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kokkos, Alexios

2008-01-01

The central aim of this article is to analyse the current situation of adult education in Greece. The article focuses on the following points: (a) the degree of participation in programmes of continuing professional training and general adult education courses, (b) the quality and the outcomes of the adult education provision in Greece, and (c)…

Greece

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2013-04-17

... within the total column of the atmosphere are indicated by green, yellow or orange pixels, and clearer skies are indicated by purple and ... Maria Kanakidou and Nikos Mihalopoulos, Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece. Other formats ...

School-Based Fluoride Mouth-Rinse Program Dissemination Associated With Decreasing Dental Caries Inequalities Between Japanese Prefectures: An Ecological Study.

PubMed

Matsuyama, Yusuke; Aida, Jun; Taura, Katsuhiko; Kimoto, Kazunari; Ando, Yuichi; Aoyama, Hitoshi; Morita, Manabu; Ito, Kanade; Koyama, Shihoko; Hase, Akihiro; Tsuboya, Toru; Osaka, Ken

2016-11-05

Dental caries inequalities still severely burden individuals' and society's health, even in countries where fluoride toothpastes are widely used and the incidence of dental caries has been decreasing. School-based fluoride mouth-rinse (S-FMR) programs, a population strategy for dental caries prevention, might decrease dental caries inequalities. This study investigated the association between S-FMR and decreasing dental caries prevalence and caries-related inequalities in 12-year-olds by Japanese prefecture. We conducted an ecological study using multi-year prefecture-level aggregated data of children born between 1994 and 2000 in all 47 Japanese prefectures. Using two-level linear regression analyses (birth year nested within prefecture), the association between S-FMR utilization in each prefecture and 12-year-olds' decayed, missing, or filled permanent teeth (DMFT), which indicates dental caries experience in their permanent teeth, were examined. Variables that could explain DMFT inequalities between prefectures, such as dental caries experience at age 3 years, dentist density, and prefectural socioeconomic circumstances, were also considered. High S-FMR utilization was significantly associated with low DMFT at age 12 (coefficient -0.011; 95% confidence interval, -0.018 to -0.005). S-FMR utilization explained 25.2% of the DMFT variance between prefectures after considering other variables. Interaction between S-FMR and dental caries experience at age 3 years showed that S-FMR was significantly more effective in prefectures where the 3-year-olds had high levels of dental caries experience. S-FMR, administered to children of all socioeconomic statuses, was associated with lower DMFT. Utilization of S-FMR reduced dental caries inequalities via proportionate universalism.

School-Based Fluoride Mouth-Rinse Program Dissemination Associated With Decreasing Dental Caries Inequalities Between Japanese Prefectures: An Ecological Study

PubMed Central

Matsuyama, Yusuke; Aida, Jun; Taura, Katsuhiko; Kimoto, Kazunari; Ando, Yuichi; Aoyama, Hitoshi; Morita, Manabu; Ito, Kanade; Koyama, Shihoko; Hase, Akihiro; Tsuboya, Toru; Osaka, Ken

2016-01-01

Background Dental caries inequalities still severely burden individuals’ and society’s health, even in countries where fluoride toothpastes are widely used and the incidence of dental caries has been decreasing. School-based fluoride mouth-rinse (S-FMR) programs, a population strategy for dental caries prevention, might decrease dental caries inequalities. This study investigated the association between S-FMR and decreasing dental caries prevalence and caries-related inequalities in 12-year-olds by Japanese prefecture. Methods We conducted an ecological study using multi-year prefecture-level aggregated data of children born between 1994 and 2000 in all 47 Japanese prefectures. Using two-level linear regression analyses (birth year nested within prefecture), the association between S-FMR utilization in each prefecture and 12-year-olds’ decayed, missing, or filled permanent teeth (DMFT), which indicates dental caries experience in their permanent teeth, were examined. Variables that could explain DMFT inequalities between prefectures, such as dental caries experience at age 3 years, dentist density, and prefectural socioeconomic circumstances, were also considered. Results High S-FMR utilization was significantly associated with low DMFT at age 12 (coefficient −0.011; 95% confidence interval, −0.018 to −0.005). S-FMR utilization explained 25.2% of the DMFT variance between prefectures after considering other variables. Interaction between S-FMR and dental caries experience at age 3 years showed that S-FMR was significantly more effective in prefectures where the 3-year-olds had high levels of dental caries experience. Conclusions S-FMR, administered to children of all socioeconomic statuses, was associated with lower DMFT. Utilization of S-FMR reduced dental caries inequalities via proportionate universalism. PMID:27108752

The impact of Japan's 2004 postgraduate training program on intra-prefectural distribution of pediatricians in Japan.

PubMed

Sakai, Rie; Wang, Wei; Yamaguchi, Norihiro; Tamura, Hiroshi; Goto, Rei; Kawachi, Ichiro

2013-01-01

Inequity in physician distribution poses a challenge to many health systems. In Japan, a new postgraduate training program for all new medical graduates was introduced in 2004, and researchers have argued that this program has increased inequalities in physician distribution. We examined the trends in the geographic distribution of pediatricians as well as all physicians from 1996 to 2010 to identify the impact of the launch of the new training program. The Gini coefficient was calculated using municipalities as the study unit within each prefecture to assess whether there were significant changes in the intra-prefectural distribution of all physicians and pediatricians before and after the launch of the new training program. The effect of the new program was quantified by estimating the difference in the slope in the time trend of the Gini coefficients before and after 2004 using a linear change-point regression design. We categorized 47 prefectures in Japan into two groups: 1) predominantly urban and 2) others by the definition from OECD to conduct stratified analyses by urban-rural status. The trends in physician distribution worsened after 2004 for all physicians (p value<.0001) and pediatricians (p value = 0.0057). For all physicians, the trends worsened after 2004 both in predominantly urban prefectures (p value = 0.0012) and others (p value<0.0001), whereas, for pediatricians, the distribution worsened in others (p value = 0.0343), but not in predominantly urban prefectures (p value =0.0584). The intra-prefectural distribution of physicians worsened after the launch of the new training program, which may reflect the impact of the new postgraduate program. In pediatrics, changes in the Gini trend differed significantly before and after the launch of the new training program in others, but not in predominantly urban prefectures. Further observation is needed to explore how this difference in trends affects the health status of the child population.

Greece

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2013-04-17

... from north to south and between Greece and western Turkey, are uniquely situated at the intersection of Europe, Asia and Africa. ... Cyclades, Dodecanese and Crete, as well as part of mainland Turkey. Many sites important to ancient and modern history can be found here. ...

Greece and the European Economic Community.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-12-01

economic stability in Greece and then investigates whether Greece’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) will provide the economic prerequisites necessary for equilibrium. The study traces Greek economics development through the prejunta period of Karamanlis influence, the seven years of dictatorship by the Colonels and the New Democracy period from July 1974 on. It investigates the existing relationships between Greece and the EEC by the EEC by discussing their historical ties and the advantages, disadvantages and political implications of accession.

Female genital mutilation in Greece.

PubMed

Vrachnis, N; Salakos, N; Iavazzo, C; Iliodromiti, Z; Bakalianou, K; Kouiroukidou, P; Creatsas, G

2012-01-01

The number of migrants and refugees with a female genital mutilation (FGM) living in Greece is rising. This study explores the characteristics and psychosexual issues of women with FGM who were examined in the 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Athens Medical School, Greece during the year 2009. The women were asked to fill out an anonymous questionnaire asking for demographic data, obstetric history, current complaints, and psychosexual problems. The results are presented and discussed, as FGM is a new reality for Greece. Healthcare providers have to familiarize themselves with issues related to FGM and improve their skills in transcultural care, so as to manage and support women with FGM adequately.

The Impact of Japan's 2004 Postgraduate Training Program on Intra-Prefectural Distribution of Pediatricians in Japan

PubMed Central

Sakai, Rie; Wang, Wei; Yamaguchi, Norihiro; Tamura, Hiroshi; Goto, Rei; Kawachi, Ichiro

2013-01-01

Objective Inequity in physician distribution poses a challenge to many health systems. In Japan, a new postgraduate training program for all new medical graduates was introduced in 2004, and researchers have argued that this program has increased inequalities in physician distribution. We examined the trends in the geographic distribution of pediatricians as well as all physicians from 1996 to 2010 to identify the impact of the launch of the new training program. Methods The Gini coefficient was calculated using municipalities as the study unit within each prefecture to assess whether there were significant changes in the intra-prefectural distribution of all physicians and pediatricians before and after the launch of the new training program. The effect of the new program was quantified by estimating the difference in the slope in the time trend of the Gini coefficients before and after 2004 using a linear change-point regression design. We categorized 47 prefectures in Japan into two groups: 1) predominantly urban and 2) others by the definition from OECD to conduct stratified analyses by urban-rural status. Results The trends in physician distribution worsened after 2004 for all physicians (p value<.0001) and pediatricians (p value = 0.0057). For all physicians, the trends worsened after 2004 both in predominantly urban prefectures (p value = 0.0012) and others (p value<0.0001), whereas, for pediatricians, the distribution worsened in others (p value = 0.0343), but not in predominantly urban prefectures (p value = 0.0584). Conclusion The intra-prefectural distribution of physicians worsened after the launch of the new training program, which may reflect the impact of the new postgraduate program. In pediatrics, changes in the Gini trend differed significantly before and after the launch of the new training program in others, but not in predominantly urban prefectures. Further observation is needed to explore how this difference in trends affects

PRESENT CONDITION AND MEASURES TO EXPAND OF VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT ON PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS REDUCTION AT THE PREFECTURAL LEVEL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mori, Mayuka; Kanaya, Ken

Purpose of this research is to clear present condition and measures to expand of voluntary agreement on plastic shopping bags reduction at the prefectural level. Methods of this research are questionnaire survey to prefectures implementing the agreement and survey by i town page to the number of stores of companies and the number of companies in the prefectures. Findings of this research are as follows: 1. The refusal rate of plastic shopping bags was 10-40% before the implementation of voluntary agreements. And the rate is approximately 70-90% after the implementation. Therefore, before and after the implementation of voluntary agreements, the refusal rate of plastic shopping bags is approximately 40-70% less. 2. It is suggested that the time and number of meetings from proposal to conclusion of the agreement are related in some way, to the ratio of stores participating. On the participation of administration, the ratio of stores participating in the case in which prefecture and cities participate is higher than in the case in which prefecture participates.

Water quality and benthic fauna biodiversity in a unique small wetland at Messinia, Greece.

PubMed

Gritzalis, Konstantinos C; Anastasopoulou, Evangelia; Georgiopoulos, Nikolaos A; Markogianni, Vasiliki V; Skoulikidis, Nikolaos Th

2015-01-01

The wetland of Aghios Floros is located in the Prefecture of Messinia (S. W. Peloponnese, Greece) and occupies a small area, covered permanentlywith water. Flooding of the surrounding area is defended by an artificial channel that discharge large quantity of water into Pamisos River in whose river basin the Aghios Floros station belongs. At the sampling site various physico-chemical and conventional pollution parameters as well as hydrochemical variables were measured during the wet and the dry period of 2011. The hydromorphological and multihabitat approach of RIVPACS method was applied in situ, which gives an overall image of the landscape. The site was classified as 'Good' according to the Greek River Nutrient Classification System (GR.NCS) and the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna assemblages that dominated the area pointed out a 'Good' biological status as well. The biotic and abiotic sample processing, carried out in compliance with the demands of the Water Framework Directive, in general revealed high ecological status of the station. Specifically, a rich diversity and abundance of some macroinvertebrate families was recorded and regarding the aquatic flora the area is dominated by the water lilies species of Nymphaea alba which are unique in the area of Peloponnese.

First fossil occurrence of a filefish (Tetraodontiformes; Monacanthidae) in Asia, from the Middle Miocene in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan.

PubMed

Miyajima, Yusuke; Koike, Hakuichi; Matsuoka, Hiroshige

2014-04-10

A new fossil filefish, Aluterus shigensis sp. nov., with a close resemblance to the extant Aluterus scriptus (Osbeck), is described from the Middle Miocene Bessho Formation in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan. It is characterized by: 21 total vertebrae; very slender and long first dorsal spine with tiny anterior barbs; thin and lancet-shaped basal pterygiophore of the spiny dorsal fin, with its ventral margin separated from the skull; proximal tip of moderately slender first pterygiophore of the soft dorsal fin not reaching far ventrally; soft dorsal-fin base longer than anal-fin base; caudal peduncle having nearly equal depth and length; and tiny, fine scales with slender, straight spinules. The occurrence of this fossil filefish from the Bessho Formation is consistent with the influence of warm water currents suggested by other fossils, but it is inconsistent with the deep-water sedimentary environment of this Formation. This is the first fossil occurrence of a filefish in Asia; previously described fossil filefishes are known from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Italy, the Pliocene of Greece, and the Miocene and Pliocene of North America. These fossil records suggest that the genus Aluterus had already been derived and was widely distributed during the Middle Miocene with taxa closely resembling Recent species.

[Contribution of the Department of Laboratory Medicine for the Protection and the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus in Tokushima Prefecture].

PubMed

Noma, Yoshihiko

2006-09-01

Diabetes mortality rates of Tokushima prefecture have been worst one in Japan for 12 years. We started up the organization named "Tokushima Medical Doctors Association against Diabetes" for the disease prevention and the improvement of the treatments in Tokushima prefecture. More than 240 medical doctors in Tokushima prefecture joined the association. The activities of the association are ( 1) training of medical doctors, (2) education for co-medical staffs, (3) education and enlightenment for patients and the public, (4) cooperation with Tokushima prefectural medical association and the communities. For the purpose of education for the co-medical staffs, we organized the association of Certified Diabetes Educator of Japan in Tokushima and support the association as the secretariat office. We also work as Tokushima branch office of Japan Association for Diabetes and Education and Care. The prevention of disease and the improvement of medical activity level are one of the big roles those the university hospital is responsible, because the university hospital is anticipated to work as a medical leader in the community. As the University hospital can take care of all medical staffs, so it is thought to be important to contribute the local medical treatment level different with the medical association and prefecture secretariat. The promotion conference for Diabetes mellitus was established last year. The relation among the associations we take care, the local medical association, and the prefecture secretariat are getting better. We hope that our cooperative activities will contribute to reducing morbidity and mortality from diabetes in Tokushima prefecture.

Evidence of enzootic circulation of West Nile virus (Nea Santa-Greece-2010, lineage 2), Greece, May to July 2011.

PubMed

Chaskopoulou, A; Dovas, Ci; Chaintoutis, Sc; Bouzalas, I; Ara, G; Papanastassopoulou, M

2011-08-04

A West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance network including sentinel chickens was deployed in Thessaloniki county, Greece, from May to July 2011. For the first time in summer 2011, a chicken WNV isolate from 6 July was molecularly identified. The partial NS3 sequence was identical to that of the Nea Santa-Greece-2010 WNV lineage 2, detected in central Macedonia in 2010. This suggests that WNV is actively circulating in central Macedonia and that it may have overwintered in northern Greece.

Consumers' attitudes towards GM Free products in a European Region. The case of the Prefecture of Drama-Kavala-Xanthi in Greece.

PubMed

Tsourgiannis, L; Karasavvoglou, A; Florou, G

2011-10-01

This study aims to identify the factors that affect consumers purchasing behaviour towards food products that are free from Genetic Modified Organism (GM Free) in a European Region and more precisely in the Prefecture of Drama-Kavala-Xanthi. Field interviews conducted in a random selected sample consisted of 337 consumers in the cities of Drama, Kavala, Xanthi, in November and December of 2009. Principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted in order to identify the factors that affect people in preferring consuming products that are GM Free. The factors that influence people in the study area to buy GM Free products are: (a) products' certification as GM Free or organic products, (b) interest about the protection of the environment and nutrition value, (c) marketing issues, and (d) price and quality. Furthermore, cluster and discriminant analysis identified two groups of consumers: (a) those are influenced by the product price, quality and marketing aspects and (b) those are interested in product's certification and environmental protection. Non parametric statistical bivariate techniques were performed to profile the identified groups of consumers regarding their personal characteristics and some other factors affecting their buying behaviour. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Cyanobacteria of Greece: an annotated checklist

PubMed Central

Ourailidis, Iordanis; Panou, Manthos; Pappas, Nikos

2016-01-01

Abstract Background The checklist of Greek Cyanobacteria was created in the framework of the Greek Taxon Information System (GTIS), an initiative of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) that has resumed efforts to compile a complete checklist of species reported from Greece. This list was created from exhaustive search of the scientific literature of the last 60 years. All records of taxa known to occur in Greece were taxonomically updated. New information The checklist of Greek Cyanobacteria comprises 543 species, classified in 130 genera, 41 families, and 8 orders. The orders Synechococcales and Oscillatoriales have the highest number of species (158 and 153 species, respectively), whereas these two orders along with Nostocales and Chroococcales cover 93% of the known Greek cyanobacteria species. It is worth mentioning that 18 species have been initially described from Greek habitats. The marine epilithic Ammatoidea aegea described from Saronikos Gulf is considered endemic to this area. Our bibliographic review shows that Greece hosts a high diversity of cyanobacteria, suggesting that the Mediterranean area is also a hot spot for microbes. PMID:27956851

Cyanobacteria of Greece: an annotated checklist.

PubMed

Gkelis, Spyros; Ourailidis, Iordanis; Panou, Manthos; Pappas, Nikos

2016-01-01

The checklist of Greek Cyanobacteria was created in the framework of the Greek Taxon Information System (GTIS), an initiative of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) that has resumed efforts to compile a complete checklist of species reported from Greece. This list was created from exhaustive search of the scientific literature of the last 60 years. All records of taxa known to occur in Greece were taxonomically updated. The checklist of Greek Cyanobacteria comprises 543 species, classified in 130 genera, 41 families, and 8 orders. The orders Synechococcales and Oscillatoriales have the highest number of species (158 and 153 species, respectively), whereas these two orders along with Nostocales and Chroococcales cover 93% of the known Greek cyanobacteria species. It is worth mentioning that 18 species have been initially described from Greek habitats. The marine epilithic Ammatoidea aegea described from Saronikos Gulf is considered endemic to this area. Our bibliographic review shows that Greece hosts a high diversity of cyanobacteria, suggesting that the Mediterranean area is also a hot spot for microbes.

Population size dependency of measles epidemic that was scalable from Japanese prefectures to European countries.

PubMed

Yoshikura, Hiroshi

2018-04-27

Relation between number of measles patients (y) and population size (x) was expressed by an equation y = ax s , where a is a constant and s the slope of the plot; s was 2.04-2.17 for prefectures in Japan, i.e., the number of patients was proportional to square of the prefecture population size. For European countries that joined European Union no later than 2009, the slope was 1.43-1.87. The measles' population dependency found among prefectures in Japan was thus scalable up to European countries. It was surprising because, unlike Japan, population density in EU countries was not uniform and not proportional to the population size. The population size dependency was not observed among Western Pacific and South-East Asian countries probably on account of confounding interacting socioeconomic factors. Correlation between measles incidence and birth rate, infant mortality or GDP per capita was almost insignificant.Size distribution of local infection clusters (LICs) of measles and rubella in Japan followed power law. For measles, though the population dependency remained unchanged after "elimination", there was change in the Zipf-type plot of LIC sizes. After the "elimination", LICs linked to importation-related outbreaks in less populated prefectures emerged as the top-ranked LICs.

Lead exposure of the child population in Greece.

PubMed

Maravelias, C; Athanaselis, S; Poulos, L; Alevisopoulos, G; Ewers, U; Koutselinis, A

1994-12-18

Lead exposure of the child population was studied in three different areas in Greece: Kalamata which is a rural area of Southern Greece; Tavros, a district of Athens with a considerable industrial activity; and Lavrion, a small city near Athens where a lead-zinc mining and smelting industrial complex has existed for more than 90 years. The results were evaluated with respect to a number of individual, social and environmental variables (i.e. smelter, occupation of the father) especially those concerning the area of Lavrion which is the most heavily polluted area in Greece. The results of this study can be considered as an index for the extent of the lead pollution problem in the named areas of Greece.

Regional differences in population-based cancer survival between six prefectures in Japan: application of relative survival models with funnel plots.

PubMed

Ito, Yuri; Ioka, Akiko; Tsukuma, Hideaki; Ajiki, Wakiko; Sugimoto, Tomoyuki; Rachet, Bernard; Coleman, Michel P

2009-07-01

We used new methods to examine differences in population-based cancer survival between six prefectures in Japan, after adjustment for age and stage at diagnosis. We applied regression models for relative survival to data from population-based cancer registries covering each prefecture for patients diagnosed with stomach, lung, or breast cancer during 1993-1996. Funnel plots were used to display the excess hazard ratio (EHR) for each prefecture, defined as the excess hazard of death from each cancer within 5 years of diagnosis relative to the mean excess hazard (in excess of national background mortality by age and sex) in all six prefectures combined. The contribution of age and stage to the EHR in each prefecture was assessed from differences in deviance-based R(2) between the various models. No significant differences were seen between prefectures in 5-year survival from breast cancer. For cancers of the stomach and lung, EHR in Osaka prefecture were above the upper 95% control limits. For stomach cancer, the age- and stage-adjusted EHR in Osaka were 1.29 for men and 1.43 for women, compared with Fukui and Yamagata. Differences in the stage at diagnosis of stomach cancer appeared to explain most of this excess hazard (61.3% for men, 56.8% for women), whereas differences in age at diagnosis explained very little (0.8%, 1.3%). This approach offers the potential to quantify the impact of differences in stage at diagnosis on time trends and regional differences in cancer survival. It underlines the utility of population-based cancer registries for improving cancer control.

Porifera of Greece: an updated checklist

PubMed Central

Bailly, Nicolas

2016-01-01

Abstract Background The checklist of Porifera of Greece was created in the framework of the Greek Taxon Information System (GTIS), an initiative of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) that has resumed efforts to compile a complete checklist of species recorded from Greece. An updated checklist of Porifera was created on the basis of a list of the Aegean Demospongiae and Homoscleromorpha published one decade ago. All records of species known to occur in Greek waters were taxonomically validated and cross-checked for possible inaccuracies and omissions. Then, all recent publications were reviewed and the species recorded from 2006 to date were added to the list. New information The updated checklist of Porifera of Greece comprises 215 species, classified to 111 genera, 65 families, 24 orders, and 4 classes. In total, 34 new additions were made to the previous species list (8 Calcarea, 17 Demospongiae, 1 Hexactinellida, and 6 Homoscleromorpha) with Calcarea being listed for the first time from the area. The demosponge orders Poecilosclerida, Dictyoceratida, Tetractinellida, Haplosclerida, and Suberitida have the highest number of species covering 62% of the known Greek sponge species richness. It is worth mentioning that 8 species have been first described from Greek waters, 7 of which are considered endemic to this area. Our bibliographic overview also revealed knowledge gaps with regard to specific habitats typically rich in sponge diversity, and marine sectors of Greece. PMID:27932903

Oral ingestion of hexavalent chromium through drinking water and cancer mortality in an industrial area of Greece - An ecological study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen when inhaled, but its carcinogenic potential when orally ingested remains controversial. Water contaminated with hexavalent chromium is a worldwide problem, making this a question of significant public health importance. Methods We conducted an ecological mortality study within the Oinofita region of Greece, where water has been contaminated with hexavalent chromium. We calculated gender, age, and period standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for all deaths, cancer deaths, and specific cancer types of Oinofita residents over an 11-year period (1999 - 2009), using the greater prefecture of Voiotia as the standard population. Results A total of 474 deaths were observed. The SMR for all cause mortality was 98 (95% CI 89-107) and for all cancer mortality 114 (95% CI 94-136). The SMR for primary liver cancer was 1104 (95% CI 405-2403, p-value < 0.001). Furthermore, statistically significantly higher SMRs were identified for lung cancer (SMR = 145, 95% CI 100-203, p-value = 0.047) and cancer of the kidney and other genitourinary organs among women (SMR = 368, 95% CI 119-858, p-value = 0.025). Elevated SMRs for several other cancers were also noted (lip, oral cavity and pharynx 344, stomach 121, female breast 134, prostate 128, and leukaemias 168), but these did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Elevated cancer mortality in the Oinofita area of Greece supports the hypothesis of hexavalent chromium carcinogenicity via the oral ingestion pathway of exposure. Further studies are needed to determine whether this association is causal, and to establish preventive guidelines and public health recommendations. PMID:21609468

Geographical structures and the cholera epidemic in modern Japan: Fukushima prefecture in 1882 and 1895.

PubMed

Kuo, Chun-Lin; Fukui, Hiromichi

2007-06-30

Disease diffusion patterns can provide clues for understanding geographical change. Fukushima, a rural prefecture in northeast Japan, was chosen for a case study of the late nineteenth century cholera epidemic that occurred in that country. Two volumes of Cholera Ryu-ko Kiji (Cholera Epidemic Report), published by the prefectural government in 1882 and 1895, provide valuable records for analyzing and modelling diffusion. Text descriptions and numerical evidence culled from the reports were incorporated into a temporal-spatial study framework using geographic information system (GIS) and geo-statistical techniques. Changes in diffusion patterns between 1882 and 1895 reflect improvements in the Fukushima transportation system and growth in social-economic networks. The data reveal different diffusion systems in separate regions in which residents of Fukushima and neighboring prefectures interacted. Our model also shows that an area in the prefecture's northern interior was dominated by a mix of diffusion processes (contagious and hierarchical), that the southern coastal region was affected by a contagious process, and that other infected areas experienced relocation diffusion. In addition to enhancing our understanding of epidemics, the spatial-temporal patterns of cholera diffusion offer opportunities for studying regional change in modern Japan. By highlighting the dynamics of regional reorganization, our findings can be used to better understand the formation of an urban hierarchy in late nineteenth century Japan.

Corinth Canal, Greece

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-09-15

The Isthmus of Corinth has played a very important role in the history of Greece. It is the only land bridge between the country north Attica and south Peloponnese. This image was acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft.

Cotton production in the presence of Helicoverpa armigera (Hb.) in Central Greece.

PubMed

Stavridis, D G; Gliatis, A; Deligeorgidis, P N; Giatropoulos, C; Giatropoulos, A; Deligeorgidis, N P; Ipsilandis, C G

2008-11-01

The present study was conducted in 10 different communities of prefecture of Larissa, one of the main cotton-productive areas of Greece. Monitoring of Helicoverpa armigera lasted four years from 2002 to 2005. The monitoring system included four locations within each community and three traps in each location. Traps were of the funnel type, a reusable injection-moulded kind of plastic trap. Pheromone was z-11-hexadecenyl aldehyde 0.36% w/w. Insecticide (Vapona) was used for all the four years, but for years 2003 and 2004 double traps were used additionally, without the presence of insecticide (only with pheromone). Traps containing a pheromone and an insecticide had significantly greater number of insects trapped than those containing no insecticide. Fluctuation of insect population was different from year to year. Correlations on data between years (insect populations and cotton production across all communities) revealed that, when cotton production was low, the number of adult male insects of H. armigera captured in pheromone traps was high (r = -0.69). There were no statistically significant correlations between cotton production and number of trapped insects when data from all communities (across the four years) were used. Local conditions within each area have been proved important and these results were completely different compared to data concerning specific years. Prediction models must be used for average estimations within great areas that include data from many locations.

Education Policy in Greece: A Preliminary Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OECD Publishing, 2017

2017-01-01

The future of Greece's well-being will depend on improving educational performance to raise employment and social outcomes. The challenges are significant, as public education expenditure in Greece has declined in recent years and learning outcomes are weak. To help the Greek government address these challenges, this report proposes a set of…

Polychaetes of Greece: an updated and annotated checklist

PubMed Central

Simboura, Nomiki; Katsiaras, Nikolaos; Chatzigeorgiou, Giorgos; Arvanitidis, Christos

2017-01-01

Abstract Background The last annotated checklist of marine polychaetes in Greece was published in 2001. Since then, global taxonomic progress, combined with many new species records for Greece, required a thorough review of the taxonomic, nomenclatural and biogeographic status of the national species list. This checklist revises the status of all extant polychaete species reported from the Greek Exclusive Economic Zone since 1832. The work was undertaken as part of the efforts on compiling a national species inventory (Greek Taxon Information System initiative) in the framework of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure. New information This checklist comprises an updated and annotated inventory of polychaete species in Greek waters, compiled from literature reports, online databases, museum collections and unpublished datasets. The list provides information on 836 species-level taxa from Greece, of which 142 are considered questionable. An additional 84 species reported in the past are currently considered absent from Greece; reasons for the exclusion of each species are given. Fourteen species are reported here for the first time from Greek waters. At least 52 species in the present list constitute in fact a complex of cryptic or pseudo-cryptic species. Forty-seven species are considered non-native to the area. In addition to the species-level taxa reported in this checklist, eleven genera have been recorded from Greece with no representatives identified to species level. One replacement name is introduced. For each species, a comprehensive bibliographic list of occurrence records in Greece and the synonyms used in these publications are provided as supplementary material. Where necessary, the taxonomic, nomenclatural or biogeographic status is discussed. Finally, the findings are discussed in the wider context of Mediterranean polychaete biogeography, taxonomic practice and worldwide research progress. PMID:29362552

Geographical Distribution of MDR1 Expression in Leishmania Isolates, from Greece and Cyprus, Measured by the Rhodamine-123 Efflux Potential of the Isolates, Using Flow Cytometry

PubMed Central

Tsirigotakis, Nikolaos; Christodoulou, Vasiliki; Ntais, Pantelis; Mazeris, Apostolos; Koutala, Eleni; Messaritakis, Ippokratis; Antoniou, Maria

2016-01-01

Leishmaniasis, a neglected vector-borne disease caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania, is encountered in 98 countries causing serious concerns to public health. The most alarming is the development of parasite drug resistance, a phenomenon increasingly encountered in the field rendering chemotherapy ineffective. Although resistance to drugs is a complex phenomenon, the rate of efflux of the fluorescent dye Rhodamine-123 from the parasite body, using flow cytometry, is an indication of the isolate's ability to efflux the drug, thus avoiding death. The rate of efflux measured 275 Leishmania strains, isolated from patients and dogs from Greece and Cyprus, was measured and mapped to study the geographical distribution of the multidrug resistance (MDR) gene expression as an indication of the drug resistance of the parasite. The map showed that out of the seven prefectures, where dogs presented high efflux rates, five also had patients with high efflux rates. In one, out of the 59 prefectures studied, the highest number of isolates with efflux slope α > 1, in both human and dog isolates, was found; a fact which may suggest that spread of drug resistance is taking place. The virulence of the Leishmania strains, assessed after infecting human macrophages of the THP-1 cell line, fluctuated from 1% to 59.3% with only 2.5% of the isolates showing infectivity > 50%. The most virulent strains were isolated from Attica and Crete. PMID:27001764

Follow-up study of the regional quota system of Japanese medical schools and prefecture scholarship programmes: a study protocol.

PubMed

Matsumoto, Masatoshi; Takeuchi, Keisuke; Tanaka, Junko; Tazuma, Susumu; Inoue, Kazuo; Owaki, Tetsuhiro; Iguchi, Seitaro; Maeda, Takahiro

2016-04-15

Given the shortage of physicians, particularly in rural areas, the Japanese government has rapidly expanded the number of medical school students by adding chiikiwaku (regional quotas) since 2008. Quota entrants now account for 17% of all medical school entrants. Quota entrants are usually local high school graduates who receive a scholarship from the prefecture government. In exchange, they temporarily practise in that prefecture, including its rural areas, after graduation. Many prefectures also have scholarship programmes for non-quota students in exchange for postgraduate in-prefecture practice. The objective of this cohort study, conducted by the Japanese Council for Community-based Medical Education, is to evaluate the outcomes of the quota admission system and prefecture scholarship programmes nationwide. There are 3 groups of study participants: quota without scholarship, quota with scholarship and non-quota with scholarship. Under the support of government ministries and the Association of Japan Medical Colleges, and participation of all prefectures and medical schools, passing rate of the National Physician License Examination, scholarship buy-out rate, geographic distribution and specialties distribution of each group are analysed. Participants who voluntarily participated are followed by linking their baseline information to data in the government's biennial Physician Census. Results to date have shown that, despite medical schools' concerns about academic quality, the passing rate of the National Physician License Examination in each group was higher than that of all medical school graduates. The Ethics Committee for Epidemiological Research of Hiroshima University and the Research Ethics Committee of Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences permitted this study. No individually identifiable results will be presented in conferences or published in journals. The aggregated results will be reported to concerned government ministries

Harmonic analysis of the precipitation in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nastos, P. T.; Zerefos, C. S.

2009-04-01

Greece is a country with a big variety of climates due to its geographical position, to the many mountain ranges and also to the multifarious and long coastline. The mountainous volumes are of such orientation that influences the distribution of the precipitation, having as a result, Western Greece to present great differentiations from Central and Eastern Greece. The application of harmonic analysis to the annual variability of precipitation is the goal of this study, so that the components, which compose the annual variability, be elicited. For this purpose, the mean monthly precipitation data from 30 meteorological stations of National Meteorological Service were used for the time period 1950-2000. The initial target is to reduce the number of variables and to detect structure in the relationships between variables. The most commonly used technique for this purpose is the application of Factor Analysis to a table having as columns the meteorological stations-variables and rows the monthly mean precipitation, so that 2 main factors were calculated, which explain the 98% of total variability of precipitation in Greece. Factor 1, representing the so-called uniform field and interpreting the most of the total variance, refers in fact to the Mediterranean depressions, affecting mainly the West of Greece and also the East Aegean and the Asia Minor coasts. In the process, the Fourier Analysis was applied to the factor scores extracted from the Factor Analysis, so that 2 harmonic components are resulted, which explain above the 98% of the total variability of each main factor, and are due to different synoptic and thermodynamic processes associated with Greece's precipitation construction. Finally, the calculation of the time of occurrence of the maximum precipitation, for each harmonic component of each one of the two main factors, gives the spatial distribution of appearance of the maximum precipitation in the Hellenic region.

The History of Adult Education in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boucouvalas, Marcie

Adult education in Greece dates back to the time of Homer. Poetry and Panhellenic festivals were the earliest forms of adult education in Greece. By classical times, however, an entire learning society of human and material resources had been developed. Greek society experienced periods of high levels of culture and learning only to be conquered…

No debt for medical students in Greece.

PubMed

Koussidis, George A; Avgerinos, Efthimios; Bellos, Stefanos; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos

2002-07-01

Medical education in Greece is government-funded by constitution. Tuition fees are therefore not payable by students. This investigation aims to identify the sources of income of medical students in Greece. This is a questionnaire-based analysis of a sample of 488 students who were asked to state their sources of income. Mean contributions to total student income are parental financial support (93.2%), part-time employment (2.4%), scholarships (2.5%) and other sources including loans (1.9%). The income of medical students in Greece is mostly dependent on parental contributions. Other sources do not represent popular options. This situation differs to that in other countries, where loans make significant contributions to the total income of medical students.

Supports for libraries'restoration from the Great East Japan Earthquake : Challenges we address at Miyagi Prefectural Library

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumagai, Shinichiro

This article overviews the situations of damage and reconstruction of mainly public libraries in Miyagi Prefecture about 9 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Serious damage of library buildings was due not only to the tsunami or seismic sea wave but to violent shaking, the latter less reported by the media. We at the Miyagi Prefectural Library implemented reconstruction assistance for regional public libraries in both direct and indirect ways. Among them, we report in detail on the support we offered until the Minami-sanriku Town Library reopened its service. We highlight a prefectural library's role, acting between supporters and those supportees, to consider the necessity of middle organizations. We clarify what challenges we face and examine how best to provide assistance in case of large-scale disasters.

Greece and NATO: Problems and Prospects.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-06

adept diplomatic maneuvers. Andreas Papandreou, the leader of PASOK (the main opposition party in Greece), maintains that Karamanlis is still pro...at the expense of the center party, was PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) led by Andreas Papandreou. PASOK polled 25% of the vote, almost double...its 1974 vote. This gave PASOK 93 seats in the Greek parliament. PASOK’s platform advocates the transformation of Greece into a socialist state. It is

Population-based sexual behavior surveys in China: Liuzhou compared with other prefectural cities.

PubMed

Huang, Yingying; Abler, Laurie; Pan, Suiming; Henderson, Gail E; Wang, Xin; Yao, Xingliang; Parish, William L

2014-02-01

Sexual behaviors in China are rapidly changing; simultaneously, sexually transmitted infections (STI)/HIV prevalence is increasing in the general population. To investigate these major shifts, we examined sexual behaviors and self-reported STI in one prefectural city in southern China, Liuzhou, and compared it to other prefectural cities throughout China. We used adults age 18-39 from two sets of population-based surveys that paralleled each other in both content and method. The first set was the Liuzhou survey conducted in 2008 (n = 398). The second set consisted of two national surveys collected in 2006 and 2010 (n = 2,186). Liuzhou respondents reported more active social and sexual behaviors than their national counterparts, including more socializing, dancing, drinking excessively, sexual activity among never married men and women, purchasing commercial sex among men, one-night stands among men, multiple sexual partnerships and self-reported STI among both men and women. Women in Liuzhou reported greater sexual risk behavior than their national counterparts, although overall they reported less than their male counterparts; they were also more likely to have had an abortion than women in other prefectural cities. Our findings provide a comprehensive overview of the sexual context of Liuzhou among the general population, which may help explain the greater STI/HIV prevalence in Liuzhou.

Population-based sexual behavior surveys in China: Liuzhou compared with other prefectural cities

PubMed Central

Yingying, Huang; Abler, Laurie; Suiming, Pan; Henderson, Gail E.; Xin, Wang; Xingliang, Yao; Parish, William L.

2013-01-01

Sexual behaviors in China are rapidly changing; simultaneously, STI/HIV prevalence is increasing in the general population. To investigate these major shifts, we examined sexual behaviors and self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STI) in one prefectural city in southern China, Liuzhou, and compared it to other prefectural cities throughout China. We used adults age 18-39 from two sets of population-based surveys that paralleled each other in both content and method. The first set was the Liuzhou survey conducted in 2008 (n=398). The second set consisted of two national surveys collected in 2006 and 2010 (n=2186). Liuzhou respondents reported more active social and sexual behaviors than their national counterparts, including more socializing, dancing, drinking excessively, sexual activity among never married men and women, purchasing commercial sex among men, one-night stands among men, multiple sexual partnerships and self-reported STI among both men and women. Women in Liuzhou reported greater sexual risk behavior than their national counterparts, although overall they reported less than their male counterparts; they were also more likely to have had an abortion than women in other prefectural cities. Our findings provide a comprehensive overview of the sexual context of Liuzhou among the general population, which may help explain the greater STI/HIV prevalence in Liuzhou. PMID:24174289

Dental erosion prevalence and associated risk indicators among preschool children in Athens, Greece.

PubMed

Mantonanaki, Magdalini; Koletsi-Kounari, Haroula; Mamai-Homata, Eleni; Papaioannou, William

2013-03-01

The aims of the study were to investigate dental erosion prevalence, distribution and severity in Greek preschool children attending public kindergartens in the prefecture of Attica, Greece and to determine the effect of dental caries, oral hygiene level, socio-economic factors, dental behavior, erosion related medication and chronic illness. A random and stratified sample of 605 Greek preschool children was clinically examined for dental erosion using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination Index (ΒΕWE). Dental caries (dmfs) and Simplified Debris Index were also recorded. The data concerning possible risk indicators were derived by a questionnaire. Zero-inflated Poisson regression was generated to test the predictive effects of the independent variables on dental erosion. The prevalence of dental erosion was 78.8 %, and the mean and SE of BEWE index was 3.64 ± 0.15. High monthly family income was positively related to ΒΕWE cumulative scores [RR = 1.204 (1.016-1.427)], while high maternal education level [RR = 0.872 (0.771-0.986)] and poor oral hygiene level [DI-s, RR = 0.584 (0.450-0.756)] showed a negative association. Dental erosion is a common oral disease in Greek preschool children in Attica, related to oral hygiene and socio-economic factors. Programs aimed at erosion prevention should begin at an early age for all children.

Epidemiology of hepatitis C in Greece

PubMed Central

Triantos, Christos; Konstantakis, Christos; Tselekouni, Paraskeui; Kalafateli, Maria; Aggeletopoulou, Ioanna; Manolakopoulos, Spilios

2016-01-01

Hepatitis C is a global health issue and constitutes a major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. In this article, a comprehensive literature search was conducted for the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Greece, since data on the HCV prevalence, viremia and genotypes are important for developing strategies to manage or eliminate HCV infection. In addition, the pattern of HCV infection was analyzed according to the geographic region and the risk factors. These differences reflect not only distinct epidemiological characteristics among populations, but also differences on the strategy of data acquisition and quantification. Although there are not enough data, the estimation of the current prevalence of Hepatitis C in Greece ranges from 0.5% to 2%. The most important risk factors for HCV infection include blood product transfusion, intravenous drug use, chronic hemodialysis, organ transplantation, occupational exposure, sexual transmission, and vertical transmission. Because of lack of vaccine or effective post-exposure prophylaxis for HCV, the main focus of prevention is to recognize and control these risk factors. HCV infection in Greece is closely associated with the development of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and primary hepatocellular carcinoma. As far as the genotype distribution is concerned genotype 1 estimated to be 45%-47% and it constitutes the prevalent genotype in Greece, followed by genotype 3. PMID:27688651

Epidemiology of Echinococcosis Among Schoolchildren in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China.

PubMed

Cai, Huixia; Guan, Yayi; Ma, Xiao; Wang, Liying; Wang, Hu; Su, Guoming; Zhang, Xuefei; Han, Xiumin; Ma, Junying; Liu, Yu Fang; Li, Jun; Zhang, Jingxiao; Wang, Yongshun; Wang, Wei; Du, Rui; Lei, Wen; Wu, Weiping

2017-03-01

Echinococcosis is a serious zoonotic parasitic disease that is highly endemic in Qinghai Province. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of echinococcosis among schoolchildren in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture to improve early diagnosis and treatment of patients and to provide information for echinococcosis prevention and control. A total of 11,260 schoolchildren from five counties (Maqin, Gander, Dari, Jiuzhi, and Banma) in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, were screened for echinococcosis. Screening involved ultrasound imaging combined with serologic examination as an auxiliary diagnostic test. The prevalence of echinococcosis in the schoolchildren was 2.1% (235/11,260), with a rate of 0.8% for cystic echinococcosis (CE; 89/11,260) and 1.3% for alveolar echinococcosis (AE; 146/11,260). Additionally, one child had a mixed infection. The prevalence ranged between 1.1% and 4.1% among the five investigated counties, and was highest in Dari County (4.1%). The prevalence of echinococcosis was higher in girls than in boys and gradually increased with age. In addition, children with CE mainly had type 1 (CE1) and type 3 (CE3) lesions, and children with AE mainly had small-diameter calcified lesions, suggesting that they were in the early asymptomatic stage of echinococcosis. In conclusion, children of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture appear to exhibit the highest recorded prevalence of CE and AE globally. Ultrasound is useful for screening populations in regions where both CE and AE are endemic.

Epidemiology of Echinococcosis among Schoolchildren in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China

PubMed Central

Cai, Huixia; Guan, Yayi; Ma, Xiao; Wang, Liying; Wang, Hu; Su, Guoming; Zhang, Xuefei; Han, Xiumin; Ma, Junying; Liu, Yu Fang; Li, Jun; Zhang, Jingxiao; Wang, Yongshun; Wang, Wei; Du, Rui; Lei, Wen; Wu, Weiping

2017-01-01

Echinococcosis is a serious zoonotic parasitic disease that is highly endemic in Qinghai Province. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of echinococcosis among schoolchildren in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture to improve early diagnosis and treatment of patients and to provide information for echinococcosis prevention and control. A total of 11,260 schoolchildren from five counties (Maqin, Gander, Dari, Jiuzhi, and Banma) in Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, were screened for echinococcosis. Screening involved ultrasound imaging combined with serologic examination as an auxiliary diagnostic test. The prevalence of echinococcosis in the schoolchildren was 2.1% (235/11,260), with a rate of 0.8% for cystic echinococcosis (CE; 89/11,260) and 1.3% for alveolar echinococcosis (AE; 146/11,260). Additionally, one child had a mixed infection. The prevalence ranged between 1.1% and 4.1% among the five investigated counties, and was highest in Dari County (4.1%). The prevalence of echinococcosis was higher in girls than in boys and gradually increased with age. In addition, children with CE mainly had type 1 (CE1) and type 3 (CE3) lesions, and children with AE mainly had small-diameter calcified lesions, suggesting that they were in the early asymptomatic stage of echinococcosis. In conclusion, children of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture appear to exhibit the highest recorded prevalence of CE and AE globally. Ultrasound is useful for screening populations in regions where both CE and AE are endemic. PMID:28070013

NATO, Greece and the 2004 Summer Olympics

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-01

supportive of the Hellenic government, while Greece retained full responsibility for overall security operations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games ...both the Olympic and Paralympic Games with specific NATO support to Greece as follows: • AWACS deployment for airspace surveillance • Maritime...safe conduct of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games .135 Several more “Factsheets” followed adding to the scope of coordinated NATO and Greek

Counseling in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malikiosi-Loizos, Maria; Ivey, Allen E.

2012-01-01

There is rapid growth in Greece's professional and research activity in counseling, despite the lack of a clear professional identity for the field. It is hoped this will be overcome through the newly started graduate programs. Opportunities, objectives, and strategies for counseling's advancement should be directed toward close and essential…

Education and Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Rosemary

The Greek immigrant student finds adjustment to the American education system difficult and bewildering. This paper reveals the cultural and educational background of the immigrant so teachers may better understand student behavior and thereby help the foreign student through the transition period. In Greece, education is a privilege of the…

GREECE Mission Launching Into Aurora

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-04

Caption: A NASA-funded sounding rocket launches into an aurora in the early morning of March 3, 2014, over Venetie, Alaska. The GREECE mission studies how certain structures – classic curls like swirls of cream in coffee -- form in the aurora. Credit: NASA/Christopher Perry More info: On March 3, 2014, at 6:09 a.m. EST, a NASA-funded sounding rocket launched straight into an aurora over Venetie, Alaska. The Ground-to-Rocket Electrodynamics – Electron Correlative Experiment, or GREECE, sounding rocket mission, which launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Poker Flat, Alaska, will study classic curls in the aurora in the night sky. The GREECE instruments travel on a sounding rocket that launches for a ten-minute ride right through the heart of the aurora reaching its zenith over the native village of Venetie, Alaska. To study the curl structures, GREECE consists of two parts: ground-based imagers located in Venetie to track the aurora from the ground and the rocket to take measurements from the middle of the aurora itself. At their simplest, auroras are caused when particles from the sun funnel over to Earth's night side, generate electric currents, and trigger a shower of particles that strike oxygen and nitrogen some 60 to 200 miles up in Earth's atmosphere, releasing a flash of light. But the details are always more complicated, of course. Researchers wish to understand the aurora, and movement of plasma in general, at much smaller scales including such things as how different structures are formed there. This is a piece of information, which in turn, helps paint a picture of the sun-Earth connection and how energy and particles from the sun interact with Earth's own magnetic system, the magnetosphere. GREECE is a collaborative effort between SWRI, which developed particle instruments and the ground-based imaging, and the University of California, Berkeley, measuring the electric and magnetic fields. The launch is supported by a sounding rocket team from

Environmental tobacco smoke in hospitality venues in Greece.

PubMed

Vardavas, Constantine I; Kondilis, Barbara; Travers, Mark J; Petsetaki, Elisabeth; Tountas, Yiannis; Kafatos, Anthony G

2007-10-23

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a major threat to public health. Greece, having the highest smoking prevalence in the European Union is seriously affected by passive smoking. The purpose of this study was to measure environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in the non smoking areas of hospitality venues and offices in Greece and to compare the levels of exposure to levels in the US, UK and Ireland before and after the implementation of a smoking ban. Experimental measurements of particulate matter 2.5 microm (PM2.5), performed during a cross sectional study of 49 hospitality venues and offices in Athens and Crete, Greece during February - March 2006. Levels of ETS ranged from 19 microg/m3 to 612 microg/m3, differing according to the place of measurement. The average exposure in hospitality venues was 268 microg/m3 with ETS levels found to be highest in restaurants with a mean value of 298 microg/m3 followed by bars and cafes with 271 microg/m3. ETS levels were 76% lower in venues in which smoking was not observed compared to all other venues (p < 0.001). ETS levels in Greek designated non-smoking areas are similar to those found in the smoking sections of UK hospitality venues while levels in Ireland with a total smoking ban are 89% lower and smoke-free communities in the US are 91 - 96% lower than levels in Greece. Designated non-smoking areas of hospitality venues in Greece are significantly more polluted with ETS than outdoor air and similar venues in Europe and the United States. The implementation of a total indoor smoking ban in hospitality venues has been shown to have a positive effect on workers and patrons' health. The necessity of such legislation in Greece is thus warranted.

Distribution of Rotavirus Genotypes from the 2008/2009 to the 2015/2016 Season in Nara Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Daichi; Nakano, Mamoru; Inada, Machi; Fujitani, Misako; Chiba, Shoko; Sakai, Takeshi

2017-09-25

This study was conducted to investigate the distribution of rotavirus genotypes in Nara Prefecture, Japan before and after the introduction of rotavirus vaccination in 2011. Since the 2011/2012 season, DS-1-like G1P[8] strains have been detected in Nara Prefecture, accounting for about half of all strains in the 2014/2015 season. During the 2015/2016 season, no DS-1-like G1P[8] strains were detected; G2P[4] was the predominant genotype.

Concentrating Solar Power Projects in Greece | Concentrating Solar Power |

Science.gov Websites

;alphabetical by project name. You can browse a project profile by clicking on the project name. MINOS NREL Greece Concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in Greece are listed belowâ€"

Transplant Procurement Management Model Training: Marked Improvement in the Mindset of In-Hospital Procurement Coordinators at Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Yoshikawa, M; Yoshinaga, K; Imamura, Y; Hayashi, T; Osako, T; Takahashi, K; Kaneko, M; Fujisawa, M; Kamidono, S

2016-09-01

The organ donation rate in Japan is much lower than that in other developed countries for several reasons. An advanced educational program for in-hospital procurement coordinators is a possible solution for this. We introduced a Transplant Procurement Management (TPM) educational program at Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Ten healthcare professionals at Hyogo Prefecture participated in the Advanced International TPM course to educate themselves on TPM and held 2 TPM Model Organ Procurement Training Workshops at Hyogo Prefecture for in-hospital procurement coordinators. Furthermore, we held 2 workshops outside Hyogo Prefecture and at the same time undertook a pre-workshop questionnaire survey to evaluate the ability and motivation with respect to organ donation. To evaluate the effectiveness of the workshops, we conducted post-workshop and 3-months-after workshop questionnaire surveys. The results of the pre-workshop survey revealed that in-hospital procurement coordinators lacked the knowledge regarding the entire organ donation process, the current status of organ donation in Japan, and the definition of brain death. Moreover, they did not completely understand the meaning of "organ donation." The results of the post-workshop questionnaire survey showed that the educational program was effective to improve the knowledge and skills of organ donation and motivated behavioral changes among the participants. The survey results showed that our TPM model educational program offered sufficient knowledge and skills to increase organ donation at Hyogo Prefecture. We will continue this program and make an effort to further contribute to the Japanese organ donation activities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Paleolithic Y-haplogroup heritage predominates in a Cretan highland plateau.

PubMed

Martinez, Laisel; Underhill, Peter A; Zhivotovsky, Lev A; Gayden, Tenzin; Moschonas, Nicholas K; Chow, Cheryl-Emiliane T; Conti, Simon; Mamolini, Elisabetta; Cavalli-Sforza, L Luca; Herrera, Rene J

2007-04-01

The island of Crete, credited by some historical scholars as a central crucible of western civilization, has been under continuous archeological investigation since the second half of the nineteenth century. In the present work, the geographic stratification of the contemporary Cretan Y-chromosome gene pool was assessed by high-resolution haplotyping to investigate the potential imprints of past colonization episodes and the population substructure. In addition to analyzing the possible geographic origins of Y-chromosome lineages in relatively accessible areas of the island, this study includes samples from the isolated interior of the Lasithi Plateau--a mountain plain located in eastern Crete. The potential significance of the results from the latter region is underscored by the possibility that this region was used as a Minoan refugium. Comparisons of Y-haplogroup frequencies among three Cretan populations as well as with published data from additional Mediterranean locations revealed significant differences in the frequency distributions of Y-chromosome haplogroups within the island. The most outstanding differences were observed in haplogroups J2 and R1, with the predominance of haplogroup R lineages in the Lasithi Plateau and of haplogroup J lineages in the more accessible regions of the island. Y-STR-based analyses demonstrated the close affinity that R1a1 chromosomes from the Lasithi Plateau shared with those from the Balkans, but not with those from lowland eastern Crete. In contrast, Cretan R1b microsatellite-defined haplotypes displayed more resemblance to those from Northeast Italy than to those from Turkey and the Balkans.

Greece and Turkey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Summer is in full swing in this stunning true-color image of the southeastern European countries and Turkey captured by MODIS on June 29, 2002. Clockwise from left, the mountains of Greece, Albania, Macedonia, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Turkey are swathed in brilliant greens and shades of golden brown; meanwhile (counterclockwise from left) the Ionian, Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas are beautifully blue and green.Running diagonally across the image from the bottom middle to the top right is a gray streak that is caused by the angle of reflection of the sun on the water (called sun glint). The darker areas within this gray swath denote calmer water, and make visible currents that would not otherwise be noticeable.Surprisingly few fires were burning hot enough to be detectable by MODIS when this image was acquired during the height of the summer dry season. A single fire is visible burning in mainland Greece, six are visible in northwestern Turkey, and one burns on the western coast (marked with red outlines). Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Characterization of Canine parvovirus 2 variants circulating in Greece.

PubMed

Ntafis, Vasileios; Xylouri, Eftychia; Kalli, Iris; Desario, Costantina; Mari, Viviana; Decaro, Nicola; Buonavoglia, Canio

2010-09-01

The aim of the present study was to characterize Canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2) variants currently circulating in Greece. Between March 2008 and March 2009, 167 fecal samples were collected from diarrheic dogs from different regions of Greece. Canine parvovirus 2 was detected by standard polymerase chain reaction, whereas minor groove binder probe assays were used to distinguish genetic variants and discriminate between vaccine and field strains. Of 84 CPV-2-positive samples, 81 CPV-2a, 1 CPV-2b, and 2 CPV-2c were detected. Vaccine strains were not detected in any sample. Sequence analysis of the VP2 gene of the 2 CPV-2c viruses revealed up to 100% amino acid identity with the CPV-2c strains previously detected in Europe. The results indicated that, unlike other European countries, CPV-2a remains the most common variant in Greece, and that the CPV-2c variant found in Europe is also present in Greece.

Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Education Policy Advice for Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OECD Publishing (NJ1), 2011

2011-01-01

The future of Greece's well-being will depend on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. In the current economic context, with the need to get best value for spending, Greece must and can address inefficiencies in its education system. The challenges are significant. For example, Greece lags behind many…

Multi-approach characterization of the Rhodope marbles, Greece used in monuments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dotsika, Elissavet; Raco, Brunella; Psomiadis, David; Poutoukis, Dimitrios; Zisi, Nikoleta

2010-05-01

Northern Greece has many archaeological sites featuring buildings and objects entirely or partly constructed from marble whose provenance is doubtful. In Northern Greece, the most probable source of such marble is the Rhodope Mountains. For the purpose of supporting further provenance studies, these marbles are fully scientifically characterized. The sampling took place in several ancient quarries which were on trade routes of Hellenistic, Roman or Byzantine settlements. Trade of marble in N. Greece is proved to have been equally important as in S. Greece, comparing the qualitative marble of Thassos with the best marbles of the south (e.g. Paros, Naxos etc.). The techniques used are petrographic and geochemical (microscope, X-Ray diffraction patterns, Scanning Electron Microscope) methods and stable isotope ratio analysis (δ13C and δ18O). The use of a multi-technique approach with combined parameters allows the best possible discrimination. This scientific investigation both supplements the isotopic database and proves that in N. Greece people used also imported marbles.

High Dropout Rate among Elementary and Middle School Students in Changed Prefecture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yan, Weizhi; Chen, Benxiang

1989-01-01

Examines the high dropout rate among elementary and middle school students in Changed Prefecture. Lists and discusses four factors that contribute to this situation. Describes student attitudes toward school: studying is useless, excessive amounts of school work are given, misunderstandings concerning job placement exist, and tuition is high. (KO)

Post-tsunami outbreaks of influenza in evacuation centers in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Hatta, Masumitsu; Endo, Shiro; Tokuda, Koichi; Kunishima, Hiroyuki; Arai, Kazuaki; Yano, Hisakazu; Ishibashi, Noriomi; Aoyagi, Tetsuji; Yamada, Mitsuhiro; Inomata, Shinya; Kanamori, Hajime; Gu, Yoshiaki; Kitagawa, Miho; Hirakata, Yoichi; Kaku, Mitsuo

2012-01-01

We describe 2 post-tsunami outbreaks of influenza A in evacuation centers in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, in 2011. Although containment of the outbreak was challenging in the evacuation settings, prompt implementation of a systemic approach with a bundle of control measures was important to control the influenza outbreaks.

Conducting Qualitative Research on Desertification in Western Lesvos, Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iosifides, Theodoros; Politidis, Theodoros

2005-01-01

The main aim of this article is to present some critical methodological strategies employed in a qualitative research study on local socioeconomic development and desertification in western Lesvos, Greece. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with local producers in western Lesvos, Greece, an effort was made to identify and analyze the links…

Environmental tobacco smoke in hospitality venues in Greece

PubMed Central

Vardavas, Constantine I; Kondilis, Barbara; Travers, Mark J; Petsetaki, Elisabeth; Tountas, Yiannis; Kafatos, Anthony G

2007-01-01

Background Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a major threat to public health. Greece, having the highest smoking prevalence in the European Union is seriously affected by passive smoking. The purpose of this study was to measure environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in the non smoking areas of hospitality venues and offices in Greece and to compare the levels of exposure to levels in the US, UK and Ireland before and after the implementation of a smoking ban. Methods Experimental measurements of particulate matter 2.5 μm (PM2.5), performed during a cross sectional study of 49 hospitality venues and offices in Athens and Crete, Greece during February – March 2006. Results Levels of ETS ranged from 19 μg/m3 to 612 μg/m3, differing according to the place of measurement. The average exposure in hospitality venues was 268 μg/m3 with ETS levels found to be highest in restaurants with a mean value of 298 μg/m3 followed by bars and cafes with 271 μg/m3. ETS levels were 76% lower in venues in which smoking was not observed compared to all other venues (p < 0.001). ETS levels in Greek designated non-smoking areas are similar to those found in the smoking sections of UK hospitality venues while levels in Ireland with a total smoking ban are 89% lower and smoke-free communities in the US are 91 – 96% lower than levels in Greece. Conclusion Designated non-smoking areas of hospitality venues in Greece are significantly more polluted with ETS than outdoor air and similar venues in Europe and the United States. The implementation of a total indoor smoking ban in hospitality venues has been shown to have a positive effect on workers and patrons' health. The necessity of such legislation in Greece is thus warranted. PMID:17956612

Application of data mining techniques and data analysis methods to measure cancer morbidity and mortality data in a regional cancer registry: The case of the island of Crete, Greece.

PubMed

Varlamis, Iraklis; Apostolakis, Ioannis; Sifaki-Pistolla, Dimitra; Dey, Nilanjan; Georgoulias, Vassilios; Lionis, Christos

2017-07-01

Micro or macro-level mapping of cancer statistics is a challenging task that requires long-term planning, prospective studies and continuous monitoring of all cancer cases. The objective of the current study is to present how cancer registry data could be processed using data mining techniques in order to improve the statistical analysis outcomes. Data were collected from the Cancer Registry of Crete in Greece (counties of Rethymno and Lasithi) for the period 1998-2004. Data collection was performed on paper forms and manually transcribed to a single data file, thus introducing errors and noise (e.g. missing and erroneous values, duplicate entries etc.). Data were pre-processed and prepared for analysis using data mining tools and algorithms. Feature selection was applied to evaluate the contribution of each collected feature in predicting patients' survival. Several classifiers were trained and evaluated for their ability to predict survival of patients. Finally, statistical analysis of cancer morbidity and mortality rates in the two regions was performed in order to validate the initial findings. Several critical points in the process of data collection, preprocessing and analysis of cancer data were derived from the results, while a road-map for future population data studies was developed. In addition, increased morbidity rates were observed in the counties of Crete (Age Standardized Morbidity/Incidence Rates ASIR= 396.45 ± 2.89 and 274.77 ±2.48 for men and women, respectively) compared to European and world averages (ASIR= 281.6 and 207.3 for men and women in Europe and 203.8 and 165.1 in world level). Significant variation in cancer types between sexes and age groups (the ratio between deaths and reported cases for young patients, less than 34 years old, is at 0.055 when the respective ratio for patients over 75 years old is 0.366) was also observed. This study introduced a methodology for preprocessing and analyzing cancer data, using a

A model-based estimation of inter-prefectural migration of physicians within Japan and associated factors: A 20-year retrospective study.

PubMed

Okada, Naoki; Tanimoto, Tetsuya; Morita, Tomohiro; Higuchi, Asaka; Yoshida, Izumi; Kosugi, Kazuhiro; Maeda, Yuto; Nishikawa, Yoshitaka; Ozaki, Akihiko; Tsuda, Kenji; Mori, Jinichi; Ohnishi, Mutsuko; Ward, Larry Wesley; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Yuji, Koichiro; Kami, Masahiro

2018-06-01

Despite an increase in the number of physicians in Japan, misdistribution of physicians within the 47 prefectures remains a major issue. Migration of physicians among prefectures might partly explain the misdistribution. However, geographical differences and the magnitude of physicians' migration are unclear. The aim of this study was to estimate the extent of migration of physicians among prefectures and explore possible factors associated with physicians' migration patterns.Using a publicly available government database from 1995 to 2014, a quantitative estimation of physicians' migration after graduation from a medical school was performed. The inflow and outflow of physicians were ostensibly calculated in each prefecture based on the differences between the number of newly licensed physicians and the actual number of practicing physicians after an adjustment for the number of deceased or retired physicians. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine socio-demographic background factors.During the 20-year study period, the mean annual numbers of newly licensed physicians, deceased or retired physicians, and increase in practicing physicians in the whole country were 7416, 3382, and 4034, respectively. Among the 47 prefectures, the median annual number of newly licensed physicians to 100,000 population ratio (PPR) was 6.4 (range 1.5-16.5), the median annual adjusted number of newly licensed physicians was 61 (range, -18 to 845; the negative and positive values denote outflow and inflow, respectively), whereas the median annual number of migrating physicians was 13 (range, -171 to 241). The minimum and maximum migration ratios observed were -68% and 245%, respectively. In the final regression model of the 8 variables examined, only "newly licensed PPR" remained significantly associated with physician's migration ratios.A significant inequality in the proportion of the migration of physicians among prefectures in Japan was observed

Medical Informatics Education & Research in Greece.

PubMed

Chouvarda, I; Maglaveras, N

2015-08-13

This paper aims to present an overview of the medical informatics landscape in Greece, to describe the Greek ehealth background and to highlight the main education and research axes in medical informatics, along with activities, achievements and pitfalls. With respect to research and education, formal and informal sources were investigated and information was collected and presented in a qualitative manner, including also quantitative indicators when possible. Greece has adopted and applied medical informatics education in various ways, including undergraduate courses in health sciences schools as well as multidisciplinary postgraduate courses. There is a continuous research effort, and large participation in EU-wide initiatives, in all the spectrum of medical informatics research, with notable scientific contributions, although technology maturation is not without barriers. Wide-scale deployment of eHealth is anticipated in the healthcare system in the near future. While ePrescription deployment has been an important step, ICT for integrated care and telehealth have a lot of room for further deployment. Greece is a valuable contributor in the European medical informatics arena, and has the potential to offer more as long as the barriers of research and innovation fragmentation are addressed and alleviated.

Incidence of Domestic Violence Against Pregnant Females After the Great East Japan Earthquake in Miyagi Prefecture: The Japan Environment and Children's Study.

PubMed

Sakurai, Kasumi; Nishigori, Hidekazu; Nishigori, Toshie; Mizuno, Satoshi; Obara, Taku; Iwama, Noriyuki; Watanabe, Zen; Ishikuro, Mami; Tatsuta, Nozomi; Nishijima, Ichiko; Sugawara, Junichi; Fujiwara, Ikuma; Arima, Takahiro; Kuriyama, Shinichi; Metoki, Hirohito; Takahashi, Fumiaki; Nakai, Kunihiko; Yaegashi, Nobuo

2017-04-01

This study aimed to clarify the correlation between the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and domestic violence (DV) against pregnant females after the disaster in Miyagi Prefecture, an area damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. We analyzed 7600 pregnant females from June to December 2011. The incidence of physical and mental DV and the proportions in the inland, north coastal, and south coastal areas of Miyagi Prefecture and nationwide were calculated, and a chi-square test was conducted for comparison. The risk factors for DV were estimated with multivariate logistic regression analyses on a prefecture-wide basis. The incidence levels for physical DV were found to be 5.9% in the north coastal area, which was significantly higher than in the inland area (1.3%, P=0.0007) and nationwide (1.5%, P<0.0001). There were no significant differences in the incidence of mental DV between the 3 areas in Miyagi Prefecture (inland 15.2%, north coast 15.7%, and south coast 18.8%) or nationwide (13.8%). Experiencing disease or injury in someone close and changes in the family structure were significantly associated with mental DV in Miyagi Prefecture. Continuous monitoring and support for pregnant females may be necessary to address this issue in disaster-affected areas. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:216-226).

Coastal erosion and accretion rates in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foteinis, Spyros; Papadopoulos, Costas; Koutsogiannaki, Irini; Synolakis, Costas

2010-05-01

Erosion threatens many coastal regions of Greece. Anthropogenic changes of landforms such as coastal roads built on even narrow beaches, sand mining for construction, poor design of coastal structures that interfere with sediment, and dams without sediment bypasses have significantly reduced beach widths. We present erosion rates for different beaches, some of which are in sensitive ecosystems, otherwise "protected" by local and EU ordinances. By comparing inferences of beach widths in varying intervals from 1933 to 2006, we infer that the construction of dams in Acheloos river in western Greece, built in a faraonic attempt to partially divert its flows to eastern Greece, this is responsible for up to 20m/year erosion rates observed in certain locales in the Acheloos delta. More characteristic erosion rates in the region are ~ 2m/year. By contrast, there appears rapid accretion of up to 4m/year in the beaches around the Nestos delta in northern Greece (Papadopoulos, 2009). In beaches that are not near large river deltas, erosion rates range from 0.5m/year to 1m/year. While we have not done comprehensive comparisons among coastlines with different levels of coastal development, it does appear that rapid coastal development correlates well with erosion rates. The underlying problem is the complete lack of any semblance of coastal zone management in Greece and substandard design of coastal structures, which are often sited without any measurements of waves and currents offshore (Synolakis et al, 2008). Beach maintenance remains an exotic concept for most local authorities, who invariably prefer to build hard coastal structures to "protect" versus nourish, siting lack of experience with nourishment and "environmental" concerns. In certain cases, choices are dictated by costs, the larger the cost the easier the project gets approved by regulatory authorities, hence the preference for concrete or rubble structures. We conclude that, unless urgent salvage measures are

Educational Reform in Greece: Central Concepts and a Critique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gounari, Panayota; Grollios, George

2012-01-01

The case of Greece as the most recent neoliberal experiment can provide valuable insights not only about a generalized attack on the welfare state and the public good, but also about the radical changes in public education that are altering its public mission, vision, and goals. In this paper first we trace the educational landscape in Greece as…

Isolation of Legionella pneumophila from hotels of Greece.

PubMed

Alexiou, S D; Antoniadis, A; Papapaganagiotou, J; Stefanou, T

1989-03-01

Twenty water samples collected from 6 hotels situated in various areas of Greece were examined for the presence of Legionella pneumophila and Legionella-like organisms. Five of the six hotels included in this investigation were associated with cases of legionellosis. Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1 and 8 were isolated from four of six hotels, mainly from the hot water supply system. This is the first isolation and identification of L. pneumophila in Greece.

Education For Sustainability - Experiences From Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baronos, Athena

2016-11-01

One of the main issues involved is changing people's attitudes, values, behavior and consumption patterns. University education in Greece aims to educate engineers so that besides acquiring theoretical knowledge, they also learn to show competences and are motivated to act accordingly. Educating for sustainable development also entails the development of critical capacities and the necessary skills to be able to identify and formulate problems. This paper outlines the way in which an approach to teaching sustainability has been embodied in the Industrial Design, West Macedonia Greece. More specifically, it describes a course to develop comprehensive case studies and support material in order to aid, Industrial Design students in understanding the sustainability concepts and how solutions can be developed

[Subsidized project of hearing aid purchase for mild-moderate hearing impaired children in Akita prefecture].

PubMed

Sato, Teruyuki; Nakazawa, Misao; Takahashi, Shin; Ishikawa, Kazuo

2013-06-01

The dissemination of newborn hearing screening has detected children with mild-moderate hearing impairment at an early age. However, there is no nation-wide welfare system for children with mild-moderate hearing impairment in Japan. Under these kinds of social conditions, a subsidized project of hearing aid purchase for mild-moderate hearing impaired children has come into force from April 2010 in Akita prefecture. All 18 candidates who applied for this project were subsidized in Akita prefecture. Eighteen children purchased their hearing aids using this subsidy. The feature of this project was that every child could have access to subsidies as long as their doctor recognized the effectiveness of hearing aids because children with hearing impairment need to learn language. They contacted the hospital, prefectural government and institutes related to hearing loss before this project come into force. We recognized parents who are raising a child with mild-moderate hearing impairment have high interest in this project. Hearing aids can represent a considerable expense for young parents who are raising a child. We encountered some children who had to give up the idea of hearing aids due to their parents' economic circumstances before this project become effective. These situations were completely avoided after this project came into being. This administrative purpose was of demonstrated value in children with mild-moderate hearing impairment.

Medical Informatics Education & Research in Greece

PubMed Central

Chouvarda, I.

2015-01-01

Summary Objectives This paper aims to present an overview of the medical informatics landscape in Greece, to describe the Greek ehealth background and to highlight the main education and research axes in medical informatics, along with activities, achievements and pitfalls. Methods With respect to research and education, formal and informal sources were investigated and information was collected and presented in a qualitative manner, including also quantitative indicators when possible. Results Greece has adopted and applied medical informatics education in various ways, including undergraduate courses in health sciences schools as well as multidisciplinary postgraduate courses. There is a continuous research effort, and large participation in EU-wide initiatives, in all the spectrum of medical informatics research, with notable scientific contributions, although technology maturation is not without barriers. Wide-scale deployment of eHealth is anticipated in the healthcare system in the near future. While ePrescription deployment has been an important step, ICT for integrated care and telehealth have a lot of room for further deployment. Conclusions Greece is a valuable contributor in the European medical informatics arena, and has the potential to offer more as long as the barriers of research and innovation fragmentation are addressed and alleviated. PMID:26123910

Health, economic crisis, and austerity: A comparison of Greece, Finland and Iceland.

PubMed

Tapia Granados, José A; Rodriguez, Javier M

2015-07-01

Reports have attributed a public health tragedy in Greece to the Great Recession and the subsequent application of austerity programs. It is also claimed that the comparison of Greece with Iceland and Finland-where austerity policies were not applied-reveals the harmful effect of austerity on health and that by protecting spending in health and social budgets, governments can offset the harmful effects of economic crises on health. We use data on life expectancy, mortality rates, incidence of infectious diseases, rates of vaccination, self-reported health and other measures to examine the evolution of population health and health services performance in Greece, Finland and Iceland since 1990-2011 or 2012-the most recent years for which data are available. We find that in the three countries most indicators of population health continued improving after the Great Recession started. In terms of population health and performance of the health care system, in the period after 2007 for which data are available, Greece did as good as Iceland and Finland. The evidence does not support the claim that there is a health crisis in Greece. On the basis of the extant evidence, claims of a public health tragedy in Greece seem overly exaggerated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Academic Libraries in Greece: The Present Situation and Future Prospects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keller, Dean H., Ed.

The purpose of this collection of essays is to examine academic libraries in Greece at a time when the potential for changes and advance in librarianship is great. The 15 papers are as follows: "International Interlibrary Cooperation: Exchanging Goals, Values and Culture" (Don L. Tolliver); "Academic Libraries in Greece" (James…

Intellectual Assessment of Children and Adolescents: The Case of Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bablekou, Zoe; Kazi, Smaragda

2016-01-01

The article reviews the history of intellectual assessment of children and adolescents in Greece, as well as procedures, current practices, and future directions. Although the history of special education is long in Greece, there has been very sporadic and incoherent legislation and decision making on the subject. Currently, intelligence tests are…

Inter-prefecture disparity in under-5 mortality: 115 year trend in Japan.

PubMed

Nagata, Chie; Moriichi, Akinori; Morisaki, Naho; Gai-Tobe, Ruoyan; Ishiguro, Akira; Mori, Rintaro

2017-07-01

Child poverty is a growing, serious issue in Japan, where various social disparities are increasing. Numerous reports have focused on the relationship between social inequity and health, but few studies have assessed how the overall magnitude of disparities in child health has changed in the course of drastic social and economic transitions from 1899 to more recent times. In this study, we assessed the trend of the under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) and its inter-prefecture disparity in Japan. This is a secondary analysis of Japan's vital statistics data from 1899 to 2014 (115 years), which covers a core period of modern Japan. We calculated the U5MR of each prefecture and its Theil index by year to assess the trend of inter-prefecture disparity in child health from 1899 to 2014. The U5MR monotonically decreased from 238 per 1,000 births in 1899 to 3 in 2014. The Theil index of the U5MR increased in the post-war period, peaked in 1962 (0.027) and gradually reduced to <0.01 in the 1970s. In the 2000s, however, even though U5MR continued to decrease, the Theil index started to increase, and in 2014 (0.013) it exceeded that in 1970 and was more similar to that before World War II. The disparities in child health appear to be widening, and may serve as a warning to today's society that increasing socioeconomic gradients may lead to rising health inequity among children. Further investigations into the causes, mechanisms, and possible interventions are needed. © 2017 Japan Pediatric Society.

Assessment of an alternative housing reconstruction policy after the 1995 Grevena-Kozani (N.Greece) earthquake: Construction of standardized units in private lots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mousteraki, K.; Dandoulaki, M.; Symeonidis, S.

2009-04-01

In Greece, the reconstruction of earthquake damaged building stock is technically and financially supported by the state. Housing reconstruction typically comprises three subsequent phases that is emergency shelter, temporary housing and permanent housing in buildings after their reconstruction. The latter is based on financial support by the state to the owner for the repair or reconstruction of each individual building. A different approach was tried after the 1995 Kozani-Grevena (N.Greece) earthquake. The earthquake (M=6.6) affected mainly the countryside of the two prefectures and devastated a great number of small settlements with aged and decreasing population. The experience from the 1986 Kalamata earthquake had demonstrated that low income and elderly households had difficulties in using reconstruction loans and tented to remain longer in temporary housing. In an attempt to take in the Kalamata experience and the development features of the disaster area, certain categories of homeless households were offered the choice to select either the typical financial and technical support to reconstruct their damaged house under their own responsibility or a small standard house (50 to 60m2) constructed by the state in their lot. About 4,000 housing units were constructed in villages all over the disaster area. The paper focuses on this new housing policy. It presents the institutional framework, the procedures for the selection of eligible households, the geography of the constructed housing units, issues of project management and involved costs. It also attempts to highlight strong and weak points of the new approach and to make some comparisons with the long-established approach to recovery of damaged building stock. The overall conclusion is that despite huge complexities in project management and higher costs, this new policy contributed in retaining the population and enhancing development in the area.

Tsunami disaster risk management capabilities in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marios Karagiannis, Georgios; Synolakis, Costas

2015-04-01

Greece is vulnerable to tsunamis, due to the length of the coastline, its islands and its geographical proximity to the Hellenic Arc, an active subduction zone. Historically, about 10% of all world tsunamis occur in the Mediterranean region. Here we review existing tsunami disaster risk management capabilities in Greece. We analyze capabilities across the disaster management continuum, including prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Specifically, we focus on issues like legal requirements, stakeholders, hazard mitigation practices, emergency operations plans, public awareness and education, community-based approaches and early-warning systems. Our research is based on a review of existing literature and official documentation, on previous projects, as well as on interviews with civil protection officials in Greece. In terms of tsunami disaster prevention and hazard mitigation, the lack of tsunami inundation maps, except for some areas in Crete, makes it quite difficult to get public support for hazard mitigation practices. Urban and spatial planning tools in Greece allow the planner to take into account hazards and establish buffer zones near hazard areas. However, the application of such ordinances at the local and regional levels is often difficult. Eminent domain is not supported by law and there are no regulatory provisions regarding tax abatement as a disaster prevention tool. Building codes require buildings and other structures to withstand lateral dynamic earthquake loads, but there are no provisions for resistance to impact loading from water born debris Public education about tsunamis has increased during the last half-decade but remains sporadic. In terms of disaster preparedness, Greece does have a National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) and is a Member of UNESCO's Tsunami Program for North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (NEAM) region. Several exercises have been organized in the framework of the NEAM Tsunami Warning

Foreign Language Curricula in Japanese High Schools: A Case Study in Miyagi Prefecture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ball, Daniel

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the foreign language curricula in Japanese high schools for the purpose of gaining insight into alternative views of foreign language education. Teachers, administrators, and staff at two high schools in Miyagi Prefecture were interviewed. Teachers were asked about testing, placement procedures, standards,…

Early detection and response for measles and rubella cases through the (Nursery) School Absenteeism Surveillance System in Ibaraki Prefecture.

PubMed

Watanabe, Miki; Kurita, Junko; Takagi, Takeshi; Nagata, Noriko; Nagasu, Natsuki; Sugawara, Tamie; Ohkusa, Yasushi

2016-01-01

Objectives In Ibaraki Prefecture, all (nursery) schools have joined the (Nursery) School Absenteeism Surveillance System (hereafter denoted as (N)SASSy), which is operated by the Japan School Health Association to monitor the prevalence of infectious diseases, the early detection and response for outbreaks, and prevention of large outbreaks. Prefectural government officers also utilize it as a control measure for infectious diseases. In particular, when cases of measles or rubella are registered, (N)SASSy sends e-mails automatically to prefectural government officers to activate control measures. This paper summarizes administrative responses by prefectural government officers for measles or rubella cases using (N)SASSy and discusses the future challenges.Methods We summarized registration, detection, and first response data for measles or rubella cases in (N)SASSy and compared the number of detected and reported cases enforced by the Infectious Diseases Control Law from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014.Results The public health center questioned hospitals/clinics and (nursery) schools about all registered measles or rubella cases in (N)SASSy on the same day to check the entered information. In the past 2 years, there were 5 measles and 56 rubella cases in 2013 and 1 measles and 19 rubella cases in 2014 registered with (N)SASSy. All cases were checked and investigated by the public health center. Of all cases detected by (N)SASSy, 7 rubella cases in 2013 and 1 rubella case in 2014 were reported based on the law. No measles cases were reported in the 2 years. The results of investigations and laboratory tests were given as feedback to the (nursery) schools. If the case did not case definition determined by the law, we changed the status in (N)SASSy to suspected or discarded cases.Conclusion Since (N)SASSy assists prefectural government officers with earlier detection of and response for infectious diseases, it definitely contributes to infection control

Ticks and tick-borne pathogens in wild birds in Greece.

PubMed

Diakou, Anastasia; Norte, Ana Cláudia; Lopes de Carvalho, Isabel; Núncio, Sofia; Nováková, Markéta; Kautman, Matej; Alivizatos, Haralambos; Kazantzidis, Savas; Sychra, Oldřich; Literák, Ivan

2016-05-01

Wild birds are common hosts of ticks and can transport them for long distances, contributing to the spreading of tick-borne pathogens. The information about ticks on birds and tick-borne pathogens in Greece is limited. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and species of ticks infesting wild resident birds (mostly small passerines) in Greece, and to assess Borrelia and Rickettsia infection in the collected ticks. Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. was performed by nested PCR targeting the flaB gene. Rickettsia spp. were detected by PCR targeting the gltA and ompA genes. Seven (2 %) out of 403 birds examined in northern Greece in 2013 were infested with 15 ticks, identified as Ixodes frontalis, Ixodes acuminatus, Hyalomma marginatum, Hyalomma aegyptium and Hyalomma sp. All ticks were negative for Borrelia spp. while four of them were positive for rickettsiae (Rickettsia aeschlimannii in H. aegyptium and Rickettsia sp. in I. frontalis, H. aegyptium and H. marginatum). Ixodes acuminatus is reported for the first time in Greece and Sylvia borin is reported as a new host record for I. acuminatus.

Daily radionuclide ingestion and internal radiation doses in Aomori prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Ohtsuka, Yoshihito; Kakiuchi, Hideki; Akata, Naofumi; Takaku, Yuichi; Hisamatsu, Shun'ichi

2013-10-01

To assess internal annual dose in the general public in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, 80 duplicate cooked diet samples, equivalent to the food consumed over a 400-d period by one person, were collected from 100 volunteers in Aomori City and the village of Rokkasho during 2006–2010 and were analyzed for 11 radionuclides. To obtain average rates of ingestion of radionuclides, the volunteers were selected from among office, fisheries, agricultural, and livestock farm workers. Committed effective doses from ingestion of the diet over a 1-y period were calculated from the analytical results and from International Commission on Radiological Protection dose coefficients; for 40K, an internal effective dose rate from the literature was used. Fisheries workers had significantly higher combined internal annual dose than the other workers, possibly because of high rates of ingestion of marine products known to have high 210Po concentrations. The average internal dose rate, weighted by the numbers of households in each worker group in Aomori Prefecture, was estimated at 0.47 mSv y-1. Polonium-210 contributed 49% of this value. The sum of committed effective dose rates for 210Po, 210Pb, 228Ra, and 14C and the effective dose rate of 40K accounted for approximately 99% of the average internal dose rate.

Huntington's disease in Greece: the experience of 14 years.

PubMed

Panas, M; Karadima, G; Vassos, E; Kalfakis, N; Kladi, A; Christodoulou, K; Vassilopoulos, D

2011-12-01

A large scale genetic and epidemiological study of Huntington's disease (HD) was carried out in Greece from January 1995 to December 2008. Diagnostic testing was carried out in 461 symptomatic individuals, while 256 were tested for presymptomatic purposes. The diagnosis of HD with a CAG expansion ≥ 36 was confirmed in 278 symptomatic individuals. The prevalence of HD in Greece was estimated at approximately 2.5 to 5.4:100,000, while the mean minimum incidence was estimated at 2.2 to 4.4 per million per year. The molecular diagnosis of HD was confirmed in the majority of patients (84.4%) sent for confirmation. The false-positive cases 15.6% were characterized by the absence of a family history of HD and the presence of an atypical clinical picture. The uptake of predictive testing for HD was 8.6%. A prenatal test was requested in six pregnancies. The findings of our study do not differ significantly from those of similar studies from other European countries despite the relative genetic isolation of Greece. Of interest is the identification of clusters of HD in Greece. The presence or absence of a family history of HD should be interpreted cautiously, during the diagnostic process. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Adult Education in Modern Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boucouvalas, Marcie

1982-01-01

Greece's adult education enterprise is well-organized, well-thought-out, and well-grounded. A sound philosophical, theoretical, and conceptual foundation supports its operational components. A unique feature is its blend of centralization and decentralization: centralized policy and guidance and decentralized decision making and autonomy over…

Greek Immigrants and Greece: An Introduction to the Multi-Media Package on Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mowat, Susanne; Witzel, Anne

This is another of several multi-media packages on ethnic groups in Toronto that attempt to introduce Toronto teachers (especially those who teach English as a second language) to the cultures and societies from which their students came. An introduction to the multi-media package on Greece is given here. Sections included in the document are:…

The Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS) in Fukushima Prefecture-A progress report on the enrollment stage.

PubMed

Hashimoto, Koichi; Yasumura, Seiji; Fujimori, Keiya; Kyozuka, Hyo; Wakaki, Yu; Sato, Akiko; Hanzawa, Haruko; Yokoyama, Tadahiko; Sato, Testushi; Hosoya, Mitsuaki

2017-08-09

The Japan Environment and Children's Study is an ongoing nationwide birth cohort study that is being conducted at 15 regional centers throughout Japan. The recruitment of subjects in the study area within Fukushima Prefecture, which includes Fukushima City, Minami Soma City and Futaba County, was begun on January 31, 2011 with the cooperation of the obstetrics and gynecology departments of local medical institutions. On March 11, soon after the start of recruitment, the Tohoku region was hit by an unprecedented disaster in the shape of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which was closely followed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. As a result of the disaster, the study area in Fukushima Prefecture was expanded on October 1, 2012 to include 59 municipalities across Fukushima Prefecture. Three points are seen as particularly important: 1) Radiation risk communication, 2) The motto is "Be attentive. Be supportive.", and 3) Establishing cooperating partnerships. With the cooperation of all concerned, the recruitment period ended on March 31, 2014. The tentative total number of the participants enrolled at the Fukushima Regional Center was 34,666 (13,134 pregnant mothers, 8,695 fathers and 12,837 children born before November 30, 2014 as of June 2016).

E55_Inflight_JAXA_Gifu_Prefecture__2018_0529_1112_659069

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-05-30

SPACE STATION CREW MEMBER DISCUSSES LIFE IN SPACE WITH JAPANESE STUDENTS--- Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 55 Flight Engineer Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) discussed life and space on the orbital outpost during an in-flight educational event May 29 with students gathered at the Gifu Prefecture Air and Space Museum in Japan. Kanai is in the final week of his six month mission on the complex, headed for a landing in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft June 3 on the south central steppe of Kazakhstan.

School Building Organisation in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

PEB Exchange, 2001

2001-01-01

Discusses the past and current organizational structure of Greece's School Building Organisation, a body established to work with government agencies in the design and construction of new buildings and the provisioning of educational equipment. Future planning to incorporate culture and creativity, sports, and laboratory learning in modern school…

Attitude of elderly patients towards cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Greece.

PubMed

Chliara, Daphne; Chalkias, Athanasios; Horopanitis, Evaggelos E; Papadimitriou, Lila; Xanthos, Theodoros

2014-10-01

Although researchers in several countries have investigated patients' points of view regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation, there has been no research investigating this issue in Greece. The present study aimed at identifying the attitude of older Greek patients regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation. One basic questionnaire consisting of 34 questions was used in order to identify patients' opinions regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation in five different hospitals from June to November 2011. In total, 300 questionnaires were collected. Although patients' knowledge regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation was poor, most of them would like to be resuscitated in case they suffered an in-hospital cardiac arrest. Also, they believe that they should have the right to accept or refuse treatment. However, the legal and sociocultural norms in Greece do not support patients' choice for the decision to refuse resuscitation. The influence of several factors, such as their general health status or the underlying pathology, could lead patients to give a "do not attempt resuscitation" order. The attitudes of older Greek patients regarding resuscitation are not different from others', whereas the legal and sociocultural norms in Greece do not support patient choice in end-of-life decisions, namely the decision to refuse resuscitation. We advocate the introduction of advanced directives, as well as the establishment and implementation of specific legislation regarding the ethics of resuscitation in Greece. © 2013 Japan Geriatrics Society.

Spatial and temporal variability of the Aridity Index in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nastos, Panagiotis T.; Politi, Nadia; Kapsomenakis, John

2013-01-01

The objective of this paper is to study the spatial and temporal variability of the Aridity Index (AI) in Greece, per decade, during the 50-year period (1951-2000). Besides, the projected changes in ensemble mean AI between the period 1961-1990 (reference period) and the periods 2021-2050 (near future) and 2071-2100 (far future) along with the inter-model standard deviations were presented, based on the simulation results, derived from a number of Regional Climatic Models (RCMs), within the ENSEMBLE European Project. The projection of the future climate was done under SRES A1B. The climatic data used, concern monthly precipitation totals and air temperature from 28 meteorological stations (22 stations from the Hellenic National Meteorological Service and 6 stations from neighboring countries, taken from the Monthly Climatic Data for the World). The estimation of the AI was carried out based on the potential evapotranspiration (PET) defined by Thornthwaite (1948). The data processing was done by the application of the statistical package R-project and the Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The results of the analysis showed that, within the examined period (1951-2000), a progressive shift from the "humid" class, which characterized the wider area of Greece, towards the "sub-humid" and "semi-arid" classes appeared in the eastern Crete Island, the Cyclades complex, the Evia and Attica, that is mainly the eastern Greece. The most significant change appears during the period 1991-2000. The future projections at the end of twentieth century, using ensemble mean simulations from 8 RCMs, show that drier conditions are expected to establish in regions of Greece (Attica, eastern continental Greece, Cyclades, Dodecanese, eastern Crete Island and northern Aegean). The inter-model standard deviation over these regions ranges from 0.02 to 0.05 against high values (0.09-0.15) illustrated in western mountainous continental Greece, during 2021-2050. Higher values of inter

Problems experienced by haemodialysis patients in Greece.

PubMed

Kaba, E; Bellou, P; Iordanou, P; Andrea, S; Kyritsi, E; Gerogianni, G; Zetta, S; Swigart, V

Even though Greece has a disproportionate number of haemodialysis stations for the treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and a rapidly rising number of patients on dialysis, there has been no study of the lived experience of haemodialysis treatment in Greece. ESRD and dialysis drastically impact patients' everyday life, therefore expectations and desires play a major role in adapting to alterations and restrictions. An understanding of these culturally-influenced expectations and desires is essential for the delivery of holistic nursing care. This study aimed to explore how Greek patients receiving long-term haemodialysis perceived their problems and to describe the impact of haemodialysis on their lives. Using a grounded theory approach, 23 patients with ESRD receiving haemodialysis were purposively recruited from two hospital dialysis centres in Athens, Greece. Data were collected during 2006 by personal interviews. Given a distinctive patient experience of haemodialysis, some insight into their common concerns can facilitate provision of healthcare services that adequately meets their needs. By developing an understanding of the experience of renal illness and therapy for a group of people using dialysis, this study was intended as a contribution towards enabling healthcare professionals to provide more effective support to people who are living with this chronic condition.

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among schoolchildren in Greece: the role of sex, degree of urbanisation and seasonality.

PubMed

Manios, Yannis; Moschonis, George; Hulshof, Toine; Bourhis, Anne-Sophie; Hull, George L J; Dowling, Kirsten G; Kiely, Mairead E; Cashman, Kevin D

2017-10-01

The current study was aiming to report the prevalence of suboptimal vitamin D status among schoolchildren in Greece and investigate the role of sex, urbanisation and seasonality on vitamin D status. A sample of 2386 schoolchildren (9-13 years old) from four distinct prefectures was examined. The prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration <30 and <50 nmol/l (vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency respectively) was 5·2 and 52·5 %, respectively. Girls had a higher prevalence of 25(OH)D<30 (7·2 v. 3·2 %) and 50 nmol/l (57·0 v. 48·0 %) than boys (P<0·001). The highest prevalence rates of 25(OH)D<30 and 50 nmol/l (9·1 and 73·1 %, respectively) were observed during spring (April to June), whereas the lowest (1·5 and 31·9 %, respectively) during autumn (October to December). The prevalence of 25(OH)D<50 nmol/l was higher in urban/semi-urban than rural regions, particularly during spring months (74·6 v. 47·2 %; P<0·001). Female sex, urban/semi-urban region of residence and spring months were found to increase the likelihood of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, with the highest OR observed for spring months (7·47; 95 % CI 3·23, 17·3 and 5·14; 95 % CI 3·84, 6·89 for 25(OH)D<30 and 50 nmol/l respectively). In conclusion, despite the southerly latitude, the prevalence of low vitamin D status among primary schoolchildren in Greece is comparable to or exceeds the prevalence reported among children and adolescents on a European level. Sub-populations at highest risk are girls in urban/semi-urban areas during spring months, thus indicating the need for effective initiatives to support adequate vitamin D status in these population groups.

Teachers' Burnout, Depression, Role Ambiguity and Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papastylianou, Antonia; Kaila, Maria; Polychronopoulos, Michael

2009-01-01

The present study investigates issues associated with teachers' burnout in primary education as related to depression and role conflict-ambiguity. At the time of the study the participants (562 teachers) were working in seventy nine (79) Primary Education State Schools in Greece (Athens and two prefectures in the southern part of the country). The…

Arsenic accumulation in irrigated agricultural soils in Northern Greece.

PubMed

Casentini, B; Hug, S J; Nikolaidis, N P

2011-10-15

The accumulation of arsenic in soils and food crops due to the use of arsenic contaminated groundwater for irrigation has created worldwide concern. In the Chalkidiki prefecture in Northern Greece, groundwater As reach levels above 1000μg/L within the Nea Triglia geothermal area. While this groundwater is no longer used for drinking, it represents the sole source for irrigation. This paper provides a first assessment of the spatial extent of As accumulation and of As mobility during rainfall and irrigation periods. Arsenic content in sampled soils ranged from 20 to 513mg/kg inside to 5-66mg/kg outside the geothermal area. Around irrigation sprinklers, high As concentrations extended horizontally to distances of at least 1.5m, and to 50cm in depth. During simulated rain events in soil columns (pH=5, 0μg As/L), accumulated As was quite mobile, resulting in porewater As concentrations of 500-1500μg/L and exposing plant roots to high As(V) concentrations. In experiments with irrigation water (pH=7.5, 1500μg As/L), As was strongly retained (50.5-99.5%) by the majority of the soils. Uncontaminated soils (<30mg As/kg) kept soil porewater As concentrations to below 50μg/L. An estimated retardation factor R(f)=434 for weakly contaminated soil (<100mg/kg) indicates good ability to reduce As mobility. Highly contaminated soils (>500mg/kg) could not retain any of the added As. Invoked mechanisms affecting As mobility in those soils were adsorption on solid phases such as Fe/Mn-phases and As co-precipitation with Ca. Low As accumulation was found in collected olives (0.3-25μg/kg in flesh and 0.3-5.6μg/kg in pits). However, soil arsenic concentrations are frequently elevated to far above recommended levels and arsenic uptake in faster growing plants has to be assessed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gold and gold working in Late Bronze Age Northern Greece.

PubMed

Vavelidis, M; Andreou, S

2008-04-01

Numerous objects of gold displaying an impressive variety of types and manufacturing techniques are known from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) contexts of Mycenaean Greece, but very little is known about the origin and processing of gold during the second millennium B.C: . Ancient literature and recent research indicate that northern Greece is probably the richest gold-bearing region in Greece, and yet, very little evidence exists regarding the exploitation of its deposits and the production as well as use of gold in the area during prehistory. The unusual find of a group of small stone crucibles at the prehistoric settlement of Thessaloniki Toumba, one with visible traces of gold melting, proves local production and offers a rare opportunity to examine the process of on-site gold working. Furthermore, the comparison of the chemical composition of prehistoric artefacts from two settlements with those of gold deposits in their immediate areas supports the local extraction of gold and opens up the prospect for some of the Mycenaean gold to have originated in northern Greece. The scarcity of gold items in northern Greek LBA contexts may not represent the actual amount of gold produced and consumed, but could be a result of the local social attitudes towards the circulation and deposition of artefacts from precious metals.

Gold and gold working in Late Bronze Age Northern Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vavelidis, M.; Andreou, S.

2008-04-01

Numerous objects of gold displaying an impressive variety of types and manufacturing techniques are known from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) contexts of Mycenaean Greece, but very little is known about the origin and processing of gold during the second millennium b.c. Ancient literature and recent research indicate that northern Greece is probably the richest gold-bearing region in Greece, and yet, very little evidence exists regarding the exploitation of its deposits and the production as well as use of gold in the area during prehistory. The unusual find of a group of small stone crucibles at the prehistoric settlement of Thessaloniki Toumba, one with visible traces of gold melting, proves local production and offers a rare opportunity to examine the process of on-site gold working. Furthermore, the comparison of the chemical composition of prehistoric artefacts from two settlements with those of gold deposits in their immediate areas supports the local extraction of gold and opens up the prospect for some of the Mycenaean gold to have originated in northern Greece. The scarcity of gold items in northern Greek LBA contexts may not represent the actual amount of gold produced and consumed, but could be a result of the local social attitudes towards the circulation and deposition of artefacts from precious metals.

The Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS) in Fukushima Prefecture-A progress report on the enrollment stage

PubMed Central

Hashimoto, Koichi; Yasumura, Seiji; Fujimori, Keiya; Kyozuka, Hyo; Wakaki, Yu; Sato, Akiko; Hanzawa, Haruko; Yokoyama, Tadahiko; Sato, Testushi; Hosoya, Mitsuaki

2017-01-01

Abstract The Japan Environment and Children’s Study is an ongoing nationwide birth cohort study that is being conducted at 15 regional centers throughout Japan. The recruitment of subjects in the study area within Fukushima Prefecture, which includes Fukushima City, Minami Soma City and Futaba County, was begun on January 31, 2011 with the cooperation of the obstetrics and gynecology departments of local medical institutions. On March 11, soon after the start of recruitment, the Tohoku region was hit by an unprecedented disaster in the shape of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which was closely followed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. As a result of the disaster, the study area in Fukushima Prefecture was expanded on October 1, 2012 to include 59 municipalities across Fukushima Prefecture. Three points are seen as particularly important: 1) Radiation risk communication, 2) The motto is “Be attentive. Be supportive.”, and 3) Establishing cooperating partnerships. With the cooperation of all concerned, the recruitment period ended on March 31, 2014. The tentative total number of the participants enrolled at the Fukushima Regional Center was 34,666 (13,134 pregnant mothers, 8,695 fathers and 12,837 children born before November 30, 2014 as of June 2016). PMID:28680007

Pregnancy and birth survey after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Fukushima prefecture.

PubMed

Fujimori, Keiya; Kyozuka, Hyo; Yasuda, Shun; Goto, Aya; Yasumura, Seiji; Ota, Misao; Ohtsuru, Akira; Nomura, Yasuhisa; Hata, Kenichi; Suzuki, Kouta; Nakai, Akihito; Sato, Mieko; Matsui, Shiro; Nakano, Kyoko; Abe, Masafumi

2014-01-01

On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake followed by a powerful tsunami hit the Pacific Coast of Northeast Japan and damaged Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing a radiation hazard in Fukushima Prefecture. The objective of this report is to describe some results of a questionnaire-based pregnancy and birth survey conducted by the Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Questionnaires were sent to women who received maternal and child health handbooks from municipal officers in Fukushima Prefecture between 1 August 2010 and 31 July 2011, with the aim of reaching those who were pregnant at the time of the disaster. Mailing began 18 January 2012. Data were analyzed separately for six geographic areas in Fukushima Prefecture. The total number of women meeting survey criteria was 15,972. The number of responses received to date is 9,298 (58.2%). Data from 8602 respondents were analyzed after excluding 634 invalid responses and 5 induced and 57 spontaneous abortions (less than 22 gestational weeks). The incidences of stillbirth (over 22 completed gestational weeks), preterm birth, low birth weight and congenital anomalies were 0.25%, 4.4%, 8.7% and 2.72%, respectively. These incidences are similar to recent averages elsewhere in Japan. Considering the pregnancy and birth survey data in aggregate, our disaster seemed to provoke no significant adverse outcomes over the whole of Fukushima prefecture. But post-disaster prenatal care and support intended for patients' safety and security should be coupled with ongoing surveillance and rigorous data analysis.

Western Greece unconventional hydrocarbon potential from oil shale and shale gas reservoirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karakitsios, Vasileios; Agiadi, Konstantina

2013-04-01

It is clear that we are gradually running out of new sedimentary basins to explore for conventional oil and gas and that the reserves of conventional oil, which can be produced cheaply, are limited. This is the reason why several major oil companies invest in what are often called unconventional hydrocarbons: mainly oil shales, heavy oil, tar sand and shale gas. In western Greece exist important oil and gas shale reservoirs which must be added to its hydrocarbon potential1,2. Regarding oil shales, Western Greece presents significant underground immature, or close to the early maturation stage, source rocks with black shale composition. These source rock oils may be produced by applying an in-situ conversion process (ICP). A modern technology, yet unproven at a commercial scale, is the thermally conductive in-situ conversion technology, developed by Shell3. Since most of western Greece source rocks are black shales with high organic content, those, which are immature or close to the maturity limit have sufficient thickness and are located below 1500 meters depth, may be converted artificially by in situ pyrolysis. In western Greece, there are several extensive areas with these characteristics, which may be subject of exploitation in the future2. Shale gas reservoirs in Western Greece are quite possibly present in all areas where shales occur below the ground-water level, with significant extent and organic matter content greater than 1%, and during their geological history, were found under conditions corresponding to the gas window (generally at depths over 5,000 to 6,000m). Western Greece contains argillaceous source rocks, found within the gas window, from which shale gas may be produced and consequently these rocks represent exploitable shale gas reservoirs. Considering the inevitable increase in crude oil prices, it is expected that at some point soon Western Greece shales will most probably be targeted. Exploration for conventional petroleum reservoirs

The 2011 Great East Japan earthquake: a report of a regional hospital in Fukushima Prefecture coping with the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

PubMed

Irisawa, Atsushi

2012-05-01

A catastrophic undersea megathrust earthquake of magnitude 9.0 off the coast of Japan occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves, and the tsunami precipitated Fukushima nuclear accidents. After the terrible earthquake, many people fled from the nuclear accident and arrived at places far from the nuclear power plant. In this article, I present a story of one measure devised to deal with the problem of the Fukushima nuclear accident at a regional hospital of Fukushima prefecture, Aizu General Hospital, which is located far from the Fukushima nuclear plant. In addition, I briefly report the current situation of Fukushima prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. In our hospital, the countermeasure headquarters was established to supply medical care for those who had been injured by tsunami waves and the Fukushima nuclear accident. Especially, the screening for radioactive exposure using a dosimeter to take decontamination measures for cases of external exposure was extremely important task. Nevertheless, because the accurate knowledge related to radioactive contamination didn't provide, most medical staff fell into confusion. Fukushima prefecture has been 'shrinking' since the nuclear accident. However, today, although some hot spots remain in residential areas, the radioactive contamination is decreasing little by little. Many people in Fukushima Prefecture advance as one, facing forward. Recently, decontamination projects started. Efforts must be continued over a long period. © 2012 The Author. Digestive Endoscopy © 2012 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.

Greece’s Debt Crisis: Overview, Policy Responses, and Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-07

inefficient public administration in Greece, costly pension and healthcare systems, tax evasion , and a general “absence of the will to maintain fiscal...2005 to 24% of GDP in 2050. Weak revenue collection has also contributed to Greece’s budget deficits. Many economists identify tax evasion and...the informal economy in Greece to represent between 25%-30% of GDP.24 Observers offer a variety of explanations for the prevalence of tax evasion in

Molecular epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis in Greece, 2010-2015.

PubMed

Petridou, Evangelia; Jensen, Christel Barker; Arvanitidis, Athanasios; Giannaki-Psinaki, Maria; Michos, Athanasios; Krogfelt, Karen Angeliki; Petersen, Randi Føns

2018-03-01

To determine the predominant strains of Bordetella pertussis in Greece during 2010-2015. Infants and children (n=1150) (15 days to 14 years) of Greek, Roma and immigrant origin with different vaccination statuses were hospitalized in Athens, Greece with suspected pertussis infection. IS481/IS1001 real-time PCR confirmed Bordetella spp./B. pertussis infection in 300 samples. A subset of samples (n=153) were analysed by multi-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) and (n=25) by sequence-based typing of the toxin promotor region (ptxP) on DNA extracted from clinical specimens.Results/Key findings. A complete MLVA profile was determined in 66 out of 153 samples; the B. pertussis MLVA type 27 (n=55) was the dominant genotype and all tested samples (n=25) expressed the ptxP3 genotype. The vaccine coverage in the Greek population was 90 %; however, the study population expressed complete coverage in 2 out of 264 infants (0-11 months) and in 20 out of 36 children (1-14 years). Roma and immigrant minorities represent 7 % of the Greek population, but make up 50 % of the study population, indicating a low vaccine coverage among these groups. The B. pertussis MT27 and ptxP3 genotype is dominant in Greek, Roma and immigrant infants and children hospitalized in Greece. Thus, the predominant MLVA genotype in Greece is similar to other countries using acellular vaccines.

Reproductive health issues in Greece.

PubMed

Hassan, E; Creatsas, G

1999-06-01

To evaluate reproductive health issues in Greece. Analysis of hospital data and national registry reports. The rate of population growth in Greece is declining and is now 0.99% p.a. The maternal mortality ratio is approximately 3.6 per 100,000 live births, and perinatal and infant mortality are approximately 10/1,000 and 16/1,000 respectively. However, only 28-30% of sexually active women use contraception and approximately 300,000 terminations are performed each year. Sexually transmitted diseases are less common than in 1985: the incidence of syphilis is less than 4 per 100,000 population and that of gonorrhoea is less than 25/100,000. Between 1984 and September 1996, 1,421 cases of AIDS were reported; of these, 1,252 (88.1%) were in men and 169 (11.9%) in women. The incidence of human papilloma virus infection increased and at least 30% of sexually active women are infected. Good reproductive health is of major importance to women and health agencies but there are still significant obstacles to overcome in some regions.

A Marvelous Journey: Calling from Greece to a U.S. Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holman, Lana; Sucich, John

2007-01-01

A unit of study on Ancient Greece is a part of the fourth grade social studies curriculum at Belmont Day School. The students spend 10 weeks exploring Greek history and mythology. This article discusses a new project that the authors conducted, wherein one of them was going to Greece on a study tour, while the other one stays in Belmont Day…

Leptospirosis in Greece.

PubMed

Papa, Anna; Kotrotsiou, Tzimoula

2015-09-01

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with increased public health concern worldwide. The disease occurs more often in temperate and tropical regions. The present study analyzes the demographic, epidemiological and clinical data of 168 leptospirosis cases laboratory diagnosed in northern Greece during 1998-2014. Most patients were males, aged 50-69 years, working in animal husbandry or farming. Cases were observed more frequently in summer and autumn. Severity of the disease was correlated with presence of pulmonary involvement and hemorrhagic manifestations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Education and Modernization in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kazamias, Andreas M.

This history of Greek education traces the path of modernization from the emergence of Greece as an independent state in the early 1800's up to the present date. Educational philosophy and content are seen as pawns in the social and political struggles of those years. Detailed coverage of the historical events describes the structure of education…

[Structure and characteristics of technical support that psychiatric social workers of prefectural governments provide for municipalities].

PubMed

Okada, Takashi

2017-01-01

Objectives　The support to municipalities by prefectural governments has become necessary in the fields of mental health and welfare. Therefore, psychiatric social workers (PSW) ordered from the prefectural governor has been providing technical support (TS) that promote community activities of the municipality and improve staff support for persons with mental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to identify empirical structure and characteristics of TS that PSW provide for municipality staff.Method　Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven certified PSW randomly selected from the membership list of the National Psychiatric Social Worker Organization. Inclusion criteria required participants to have more than 10 years of experience at the prefectural government and experience providing TS in the last five years. Interviews focused on two situations: a casework and a project related to mental health. Interview data were analyzed using a qualitative content method, setting a framework for the consultation process.Results　The analysis included five categories < > and 15 subcategories [ ], which consisted of 37 concepts. In category with municipalities consisted of [complementary relationship] and [partnership]. The category included two subcategories, [analyze/judgment from the conditions spread in front of] and [analyze/judgment be the accumulated skills and knowledge in person]. In category , six policies were considered as important, including [problem solving and promoting action], [fostering person centered care perspective], [promoting the understanding of residents], [provide psychological support to the staff], [clarify responsibility as the municipal officials], and [coordinate to improve the environment]. Category consisted of both [support indirectly] and [support cooperatively]. The last category

Epidemiological Observations on Cryptosporidiosis in Diarrheic Goat Kids in Greece.

PubMed

Giadinis, Nektarios D; Papadopoulos, Elias; Lafi, Shawkat Q; Papanikolopoulou, Vasiliki; Karanikola, Sofia; Diakou, Anastasia; Vergidis, Vergos; Xiao, Lihua; Ioannidou, Evi; Karatzias, Harilaos

2015-01-01

This study aimed at investigating the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in diarrheic goat kids in Greece and the risk factors associated with cryptosporidiosis. Altogether, 292 diarrheic 4-15-day-old goat kids from 54 dairy goat herds of Northern Greece were examined. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium spp. were detected in 223 of 292 (76.4%) goat kids and the intensity of infection was scored as "high" in 142 samples, "moderate" in 45 samples, and "low" in 36 samples. Larger herds (>200 animals) had higher infection rates than smaller ones, although this difference was not statistically significant. Significantly higher infection rates were observed in herds during late kidding season (1 January to 30 April) compared to the early one (1 September to 31 December). These results suggest that cryptosporidiosis is very common in diarrheic goat kids in Greece, especially in large herds during the late parturition season.

Assessing cost and effectiveness of radiation decontamination in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Yasutaka, Tetsuo; Naito, Wataru

2016-01-01

Despite the enormous cost of radiation decontamination in Fukushima Prefecture, it is not clear what levels of reduction in external radiation exposure are possible in the Special Decontamination Area, the Intensive Contamination Survey Areas and the whole of Fukushima. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of radiation decontamination in Fukushima Prefecture in its entirety. Using a geographic information system, we calculated the costs of removal, storage containers, transport, and temporary and interim storage facilities as well as the reduction in air dose rate for a cumulative external exposure for 9000 1 km × 1 km mesh units incorporating 51 municipalities. The decontamination cost for the basic scenario, for which forested areas within 20 m of habitation areas were decontaminated, was JPY2.53-5.12 trillion; the resulting reduction in annual external dose was about 2500 person-Sv. The transport, storage, and administrative costs of decontamination waste and removed soil reached JPY1.55-2.12 trillion under this scenario. Although implementing decontamination of all forested areas provides some major reductions in the external radiation dose for the average inhabitant, decontamination costs could potentially exceed JPY16 trillion. These results indicate that technologies for reducing the volume of decontamination waste and removed soil should be considered to reduce storage costs and that further discussions about forest decontamination policies are needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MIRU-VNTR typing of drug-resistant tuberculosis isolates in Greece.

PubMed

Rovina, Nikoletta; Karabela, Simona; Constantoulakis, Pantelis; Michou, Vassiliki; Konstantinou, Konstantinos; Sgountzos, Vassileios; Roussos, Charis; Poulakis, Nikolaos

2011-08-01

The increasing immigration rate in Greece from countries with a high prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) may have an impact οn the number of MDR-TB cases in Greece. The aim of this study was to genotypically characterize the MTB isolates from patients with pulmonary drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Greece, and to determine whether there is any association between the prevalent genotypes and drug resistance. Fifty-three drug-resistant MTB strains isolated from culture specimens of clinical material from native Greeks and immigrant patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were genotyped using the mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number of tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) method. The phylogenetically distinct groups of isolates identified were: the Beijing (34%), the LAM (11%), the Haarlem (24.5%), the Uganda I (9.4%), the Ural (3.8%), the Delhi/CAS (9.4%) and the Cameroon (3.8%) families. Greek patients were more likely to have monoresistant and polyresistant TB with the most prevalent isolates belonging to the Haarlem family. Among foreign-born patients with MDR-TB, the most prevalent genotypes belonged to the Beijing family. MIRU-VNTR rapidly obtained clinically useful genotyping data, by characterizing clonal MTB heterogeneity in the isolated strains. Our results underline the need for more effective antituberculosis control programs in order to control the expansion of DR-TB in Greece.

Chewing lice from wild birds in northern Greece.

PubMed

Diakou, Anastasia; Pedroso Couto Soares, José Bernardo; Alivizatos, Haralambos; Panagiotopoulou, Maria; Kazantzidis, Savas; Literák, Ivan; Sychra, Oldřich

2017-10-01

Greece represents an important area for wild birds due to its geographical position and habitat diversity. Although the bird species in Greece are well recorded, the information about the chewing lice that infest them is practically non-existent. Thus, the aim of the present study was to record the species of lice infesting wild birds in northern Greece and furthermore, to associate the infestation prevalence with factors such as the age, sex, migration and social behaviour of the host as well as the time of the year. In total 729 birds, (belonging to 9 orders, 32 families and 68 species) were examined in 7 localities of northern Greece, during 9 ringing sessions from June 2013 until October 2015. Eighty (11%) of the birds were found to be infested with lice. In 31 different bird species, 560 specimens of lice, belonging to 33 species were recorded. Mixed infestations were recorded in 11 cases where birds were infested with 2-3 different lice species. Four new host-parasite associations were recorded i.e. Menacanthus curuccae from Acrocephalus melanopogon, Menacanthus agilis from Cettia cetti, Myrsidea sp. from Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, and Philopretus citrinellae from Spinus spinus. Moreover, Menacanthus sinuatus was detected on Poecile lugubris, rendering this report the first record of louse infestation in this bird species. The statistical analysis of the data collected showed no association between parasitological parameters (prevalence, mean and median intensity and mean abundance) in two different periods of the year (breeding vs post-breeding season). However, there was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of infestation between a) migrating and sedentary passerine birds (7.4% vs 13.2%), b) colonial and territorial birds (54.5% vs 9.6%), and c) female and male birds in breeding period (2.6% vs 15.6%). Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Smoking cessation delivery by general practitioners in Crete, Greece.

PubMed

Girvalaki, Charis; Papadakis, Sophia; Vardavas, Constantine; Petridou, Eleni; Pipe, Andrew; Lionis, Christos

2018-06-01

Tobacco dependence treatment in clinical settings is of prime public health importance, especially in Greece, a country experiencing one of the highest rates of tobacco use in Europe. Our study aimed to examine the characteristics of tobacco users and document rates of tobacco treatment delivery in general practice settings in Crete, Greece. A cross-sectional sample of patients (n = 2, 261) was screened for current tobacco use in 25 general practices in Crete, Greece in 2015/16. Current tobacco users completed a survey following their clinic appointment that collected information on patient characteristics and rates at which the primary care physician delivered tobacco treatment using the evidence-based 4 A's (Ask, Advise, Assist, Arrange) model during their medical appointment and over the previous 12-month period. Multi-level modeling was used to analyze data and examine predictors of 4 A's delivery. Tobacco use prevalence was 38% among all patients screened. A total of 840 tobacco users completed the study survey [mean age 48.0 (SD 14.5) years, 57.6% male]. Approximately, half of the tobacco users reported their general practitioner 'asked' about their tobacco use and 'advised' them to quit smoking. Receiving 'assistance' with quitting (15.7%) and 'arranging' follow-up support (<3%) was infrequent. Patient education, presence of smoking-related illness, a positive screen for anxiety or depression and the type of medical appointment were associated with 4 A's delivery. Given the fundamental importance of addressing tobacco treatment, increasing the rates of 4 A's treatment in primary care settings in Greece is an important target for improving patient care.

Metsovo lung outside Metsovo. Endemic pleural calcifications in the ophiolite belts of Greece

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Constantopoulos, S.H.; Theodoracopoulos, P.; Dascalopoulos, G.

1991-05-01

Endemic PCs and high incidence of malignant mesothelioma from household use of asbestos have been reported in Metsovo in northwestern Greece ('Metsovo lung'). In the present study, we present similar findings in six more areas of Greece. Like Metsovo, all these areas are located within ophiolite belts. Like Metsovo, material similar to 'Metsovo whitewash' has been used for various domestic uses. Asbestos fibers (chrysotile, antigorite and tremolite) were found in three of the six areas. Also, in two, MPM has been diagnosed. These findings suggest that 'Metsovo lung' occurs in several areas of Greece and has similar etiology and epidemiology.

Tuberculosis in Greece: bacteriologically confirmed cases and anti-tuberculosis drug resistance, 1995-2009.

PubMed

Papaventsis, D; Nikolaou, S; Karabela, S; Ioannidis, P; Konstantinidou, E; Marinou, I; Sainti, A; Kanavaki, S

2010-07-15

The Greek National Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria is a major source of tuberculosis (TB)-related data for Greece, where the TB burden and epidemiology still need to be better defined. We present data regarding newly diagnosed TB cases and resistance to anti-TB drugs during the last 15 years in Greece. Although the total number of newly detected TB cases has declined, cases among immigrants are increasing. Resistance to first-line anti-TB drugs is widely prevalent, although stable or declining. The implementation of an efficient and effective countrywide TB surveillance system in Greece is urgently needed.

Diurnal variation of wind-chill at Thessaloniki, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balafoutis, Ch. J.

1989-12-01

The diurnal variations of wind-chill at Thessaloniki, Greece, are considered using hourly data from January 1960 to December 1977. This is the first attempt in Greece to describe bioclimatic conditions using wind-chill data. The hourly values of wind-chill were calculated by Siple-Passel's formula which still appears to be most widely used. The values of wind-chill are discussed in terms of Terjung's scale. Thessaloniki does not experience “frost-bite” conditions during the coldest months but does experience “warm” conditions during the summer period. A comparison of hourly and daily mean values show that the means do not indicate the real range of wind-chill during the day.

Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on health, medical care and public health systems in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, 2011.

PubMed

Nohara, Masaru

2011-10-01

The Great East Japan Earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in global history. The damage was spread over a wide area, with the worst-hit areas being Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. In this paper we report on the damage and the impact of the damage to describe the health consequences among disaster victims in Iwate Prefecture. In Iwate Prefecture the tsunami claimed 4659 lives, with 1633 people missing. In addition to electricity, water and gas being cut off following the disaster, communication functions were paralysed and there was a lack of gasoline. Medical and public health teams from Iwate Prefecture and around the country, including many different specialists, engaged in a variety of public health activities mainly at evacuation centres, including medical and mental health care and activities to prevent infectious diseases. Given the many fatalities, there were relatively few patients who required medical treatment for major injuries. However, there were significant medical needs in the subacute and chronic phases of care in evacuation centres, with great demand for medical treatment and public health assistance, measures to counteract infection and mental health care. By referring to past experiences of national and international large-scale disasters, it was possible to respond effectively to the health-related challenges. However, there are still challenges concerning how to share information and coordinate overall activities among multiple public health response teams. Further examination will be required to ensure better preparedness in response to future disasters.

Inspections of radiocesium concentration levels in rice from Fukushima Prefecture after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

PubMed Central

Nihei, Naoto; Tanoi, Keitaro; Nakanishi, Tomoko M.

2015-01-01

We summarize the inspections of radiocesium concentration levels in rice produced in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, for 3 years from the nuclear accident in 2011. In 2011, three types of verifications, preliminary survey, main inspection, and emergency survey, revealed that rice with radiocesium concentration levels over 500 Bq/kg (the provisional regulation level until March 2012 in Japan) was identified in the areas north and west of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The internal exposure of an average adult eating rice grown in the area north of the nuclear plant was estimated as 0.05 mSv/year. In 2012, Fukushima Prefecture authorities decided to investigate the radiocesium concentration levels in all rice using custom-made belt conveyor testers. Notably, rice with radiocesium concentration levels over 100 Bq/kg (the new standard since April 2012 in Japan) were detected in only 71 and 28 bags out of the total 10,338,000 in 2012 and 11,001,000 in 2013, respectively. We considered that there were almost no rice exceeding 100 Bq/kg produced in Fukushima Prefecture after 3 years from the nuclear accident, and the safety of Fukushima's rice were ensured because of the investigation of all rice. PMID:25731663

Modelling evolution of air dose rates in river basins in Fukushima Prefecture affected by sediment-sorbed radiocesium redistribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malins, A.; Sakuma, K.; Nakanishi, T.; Kurikami, H.; Machida, M.; Kitamura, A.; Yamada, S.

2015-12-01

The radioactive 134Cs and 137Cs isotopes deposited over Fukushima Prefecture by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are the predominant radiological concern for the years following the accident. This is because the energetic gamma radiation they emit on decay constitutes the majority of the elevated air dose rates that now afflict the region. Therefore, we developed a tool for calculating air dose rates from arbitrary radiocesium spatial distributions across the land surface and depth profiles within the ground. As cesium is strongly absorbed by clay soils, its primary redistribution mechanism within Fukushima Prefecture is by soil erosion and water-borne sediment transport. Each year between 0.1~1% of the total radiocesium inventory in the river basins neighboring Fukushima Daiichi is eroded from the land surface and enters into water courses, predominantly during typhoon storms. Although this is a small amount in relative terms, in absolute terms it corresponds to terabecquerels of 134Cs and 137Cs redistribution each year and this can affect the air dose rate at locations of high erosion and sediment deposition. This study inputs the results of sediment redistribution simulations into the dose rate evaluation tool to calculate the locations and magnitude of air dose rate changes due to radiocesium redistribution. The dose rate calculations are supported by handheld survey instrument results taken within the Prefecture.

SURFACE RUPTURE OF THE NORMAL SEISMIC FAULTS AND SLOPE FAILURES APPEARED IN APRIL 11th, 2011 FUKUSHIMA-PREFECTURE HAMADOORI EARTHQUAKE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazmi, Zaheer Abbas; Konagai, Kazuo; Kyokawa, Hiroyuki; Tetik, Cigdem

On April 11th, 2011, Iwaki region of Fukushima prefecture was jolted by Fukushima-Prefecture Hamadoori Earthquake. Surface ruptures were observed along causative Idosawa and Yunotake normal faults. In addition to numerous small slope failures, a coherent landslide and building structures of Tabito Junior High School, bisected by Idosawa Fault, were found along the causative faults. A precise digital elevation model of the coherent landslide was obtained through the ground and air-born LiDAR surveys. The measurements of perimeters of the gymnasium building and the swimming pool of Tabito Junior High School have shown that ground undergoes a slow and steady/continual deformation.

Plasmodium vivax malaria in a Romanian traveller returning from Greece, August 2011.

PubMed

Florescu, S A; Popescu, C P; Calistru, P; Ceausu, E; Nica, M; Toderan, A; Zaharia, M; Parola, P

2011-09-01

In August 2011, a Plasmodium vivax malaria infection was diagnosed in a Romanian traveller returning from Greece. This case together with several reports over the past decade of autochthonous cases in Greece highlight that malaria should be considered as differential diagnosis in symptomatic travellers returning from this country. Travellers may serve as sentinels of emerging vector-borne diseases.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (Leishmania tropica) in a German tourist after travel to Greece.

PubMed

Berens-Riha, Nicole; Fleischmann, Erna; Pratlong, Francine; Bretzel, Gisela; von Sonnenburg, Frank; Löscher, Thomas

2009-01-01

We report on a German tourist returning from vacations in Southern Greece with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) presenting as multiple erythematosquamous lesions caused by Leishmania tropica (zymodeme MON-57). In spite of its endemicity, only few data are available on the incidence and current distribution of CL in Greece, which may allow for an assessment of the risk for travelers.

[Unprotected sexual intercourse and its correlates within HIV serodiscordant couples in Dehong prefecture of Yunnan Province, China, in 2014].

PubMed

Zhang, Y C; Cao, Y F; Yang, Y C; Tang, R H; Yang, S J; Li, L; Yao, S T; Ye, R H; Wang, J B; Duan, S; He, N

2017-01-06

Objective: To study the prevalence and correlates of unprotected sexual intercourse within HIV serodiscordant couples in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, in 2014. Methods: This study was based on the follow-up investigation of "the AIDS cohort of seronegative spouses of HIV-infected individuals in Dehong prefecture" in 2014. The 1 520 participants were HIV seronegative spouses from all five counties/cities of Dehong prefecture who voluntarily participated in the cohort. Inclusion criteria included: having a HIV-positive spouse; ≥16 years of age; having had sexual intercourse with spouse in the past year; and being a resident of Dehong prefecture. Information on HIV-positive spouses were also collected through the local AIDS epidemic database. Chi square analysis was performed to compare differences in the rates of unprotected sexual intercourse between participants with different characteristics and lifestyle choices. Multivariable logistic regression model analysis was performed to determine correlates with unprotected sexual intercourse. Results: The 1 520 participants had a mean age of 38.7±9.4, compared with 39.7±8.9 for their HIV-positive spouses. Among the HIV-positive spouses, 77.8% (1 183/1 520) had been infected for more than 3 years, and 87.6% (1 332/1 520) had received antiretroviral therapy. The prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse within serodiscordant couples over the past 12 months was 16.1% (244/1 520). The prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse correlated with the level of education of HIV-negative spouses (illiterate vs . middle school and above, OR= 1.58, P= 0.044), the number of years since diagnosis of HIV-positive spouses (short vs . long, OR= 1.6, P= 0.006), antiretroviral therapy of HIV-positive spouses (no vs . yes, OR= 2.78, P <0.001), the frequency of sexual intercourse per month (high vs . low, OR= 1.66, P= 0.019), and whether the couple had children (no vs . yes, OR= 1.72, P= 0.007). Conclusion: The

Characteristics of farm injuries in Greece.

PubMed

Alexe, D M; Petridou, E; Dessypris, N; Skenderis, N; Trichopoulos, D

2003-08-01

To assess the characteristics of occupational and leisure farm injuries in Greece. During a five-year period (1996-2000), 4,326 unintentional farm injuries have been recorded by the Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System in Greece. Data concerning demographic variables, accident conditions, and injury characteristics were collected by in person interviews. The data were analyzed by simple cross-tabulation and hierarchical cluster analysis. Injuries from falls on the same level are mainly lower-limb fractures and occur during the winter among older women. Falls from higher level concern migrant workers, who also tend to suffer severe multiple injuries, including concussions, particularly during autumn. Injuries resulting from cutting and piercing instruments, as well as from machinery, are generally open wounds in the upper-limbs, suffered by young migrant workers. Head injuries resulting from striking against an object are more generally spread across socio-demographic variables. Overexertion is the dominant mechanism for dislocations and sprains in the lower limbs. Snake and insect bites are common among younger migrant workers during summer, and they affect the upper limbs during manual work close to the ground. Non-traffic injuries from vehicles are frequently severe, involving head concussion of generally young individuals. In Greece, farm injuries are frequently serious and require hospitalization. These injuries show distinct patterns among older women (lower-limb fractures), young individuals (non-traffic vehicle-related injuries) and migrant workers (injuries from cutting and piercing instruments, falls from high level, and bites). Prevention strategies should give priority to these population groups. These prevention strategies should include guidance for poorly educated workers, including migrants, enforcement of safety regulations concerning farming machinery, and discouragement of risky farming activities among elderly individuals, particularly

The plight of the beaches of Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ewing, L.; Foteinis, S.; Kalligeris, N.; Palaiologou, A.; Synolakis, C. E.

2008-12-01

The coastlines of the Greece are rapidly retreating at a rate that has increased substantially in the past decade. We describe here specific examples of rapid erosion and we speculate as to the causes. In some instances, erosion is advancing at a rate of 1m/year. As in other parts of the Mediterranean, the causes are anthropogenic and include sand mining from the beaches and rivers, poor design of coastal structures that create reflection patterns that focus waves on vulnerable areas, removal of sand dunes to build roads, and coastal construction too close to shoreline. The underlying problem is the complete lack of any semblance of coastal zone management in Greece and antiquated legislation. We conclude that unless urgent salvage measures to protect the beaches and end sand mining and dune removal, several beaches will disappear within the next decade.

Peptic Ulcers in Fukushima Prefecture Related to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Accident

PubMed Central

Hikichi, Takuto; Sato, Masaki; Watanabe, Ko; Nakamura, Jun; Kikuchi, Hitomi; Ejiri, Yutaka; Ishihata, Ryoichi; Irisawa, Atsushi; Takahashi, Yuta; Saito, Hironobu; Takagi, Tadayuki; Suzuki, Rei; Sugimoto, Mitsuru; Konno, Naoki; Waragai, Yuichi; Asama, Hiroyuki; Takasumi, Mika; Sato, Yuki; Ohira, Hiromasa; Obara, Katsutoshi

2017-01-01

Objective Due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred in March 2011, many residents of Fukushima Prefecture were affected by a radiation accident in addition to suffering loss or damage from the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. The aim of this study was to evaluate the actual condition of patients with peptic ulcers related to the disaster. Methods Patients with peptic ulcers at six hospitals in three different regions of Fukushima Prefecture during the two months following the disaster and the corresponding period of the year before and the year after the disaster were enrolled in this study. Changes by period and region in the number of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) examinations and the number of peptic ulcer patients were evaluated as the primary endpoints. Changes in the frequencies of hemorrhagic ulcers were evaluated by period and by region as secondary endpoints. Results The numbers of EGDs and peptic ulcer cases compared to the previous year decreased in 2011 and then increased in 2012. However, the ratio of hemorrhagic ulcers to peptic ulcers was higher in 2011 (51.9%) than in 2010 (38.1%) and 2012 (31.1%), and the 2011 hemorrhagic ulcer ratio was the highest at 63.6% in the coastal area. Regarding bleeding cases during 2011, the rate at 1 month after the disaster (64.1%) was higher than the rate at 2 months after the disaster (40.5%) (p=0.033). Conclusion The number of patients with peptic ulcers did not increase immediately following the disaster in Fukushima Prefecture. However, the rate of bleeding patients increased soon after the disaster, especially in the coastal area. PMID:29269647

Urban wastewater and stormwater technologies in ancient Greece.

PubMed

Angelakis, A N; Koutsoyiannis, D; Tchobanoglous, G

2005-01-01

The status of urban sewerage and stormwater drainage systems in ancient Greece is reviewed, based on the results of archaeological studies of the 20th century. Emphasis is given to the construction, operation, and management of sewerage and stormwater drainage systems during the Minoan period (2nd millennium B.C.). The achievements of this period in dealing with the hygienic and the functional requirements of palaces and cities, were so advanced that they can only be compared to modern urban water systems, developed in Europe and North America in the second half of the 19th century A.D. The advanced Minoan technologies were exported to all parts of Greece in later periods of the Greek civilization, i.e. in Mycenaean, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods.

Development of the Social Capital Questionnaire in Greece.

PubMed

Kritsotakis, George; Koutis, Antonis D; Alegakis, Athanassios K; Philalithis, Anastas E

2008-06-01

The Greek version of the social capital questionnaire (SCQ-G) was evaluated in a sample of 521 adults drawn from three different urban areas in Greece. Exploratory factor analysis followed by multi-trait scaling yielded six factors: Participation in the Community, Feelings of Safety, Family/Friends Connections, Value of Life and Social Agency, Tolerance of Diversity, and Work Connections. The factor solution is similar to the patterns identified originally in Australia and the US. Variations suggest that social capital does not share the same structure in different countries. The SCQ-G is a useful scale to measure individual-level social capital in Greece. Social capital measurement tools should be validated in each cultural or national setting in which they are used.

Spatial transmission of H5N6 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses among wild birds in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, 2016-2017.

PubMed

Tsunekuni, Ryota; Yaguchi, Yuji; Kashima, Yuki; Yamashita, Kaoru; Takemae, Nobuhiro; Mine, Junki; Tanikawa, Taichiro; Uchida, Yuko; Saito, Takehiko

2018-05-01

From 29 November 2016 to 24 January 2017, sixty-three cases of H5N6 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) infections were detected in wild birds in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Here, we analyzed the genetic, temporal, and geographic correlations of these 63 HPAIVs to elucidate their dissemination throughout the prefecture. Full-genome sequence analysis of the Ibaraki isolates showed that 7 segments (PB2, PB1, PA, HA, NP, NA, NS) were derived from G1.1.9 strains while the M segment was from G1.1 strains; both groups of strains circulated in south China. Pathological studies revealed severe systemic infection in dead swans (the majority of dead birds and the only species necropsied), thus indicating high susceptibility to H5N6 HPAIVs. Coalescent phylogenetic analysis using the 7 G1.1.9-derived segments enabled detailed analysis of the short-term evolution of these highly homologous HPAIVs. This analysis revealed that the H5N6 HPAIVs isolated from wild birds in Ibaraki Prefecture were divided into 7 groups. Spatial analysis demonstrated that most of the cases concentrated around Senba Lake originated from a single source, and progeny viruses were transmitted to other locations after the infection expanded in mute swans. In contrast, within just a 5-km radius of the area in which cases were concentrated, three different intrusions of H5N6 HPAIVs were evident. Multi-segment analysis of short-term evolution showed that not only was the invading virus spread throughout Ibaraki Prefecture but also that, despite the small size of this region, multiple invasions had occurred during winter 2016-2017.

The market for reproductive tourism: an analysis with special reference to Greece.

PubMed

Paraskou, Anastasia; George, Babu P

2017-01-01

For many people, the need for parenthood remains unfulfilled due to biological reasons and a remedy for these individuals is assisted reproduction (AR). Because of widely differing and sometimes incompatible legislations around the world related to AR, there is considerable confusion across national borders. Within Europe, Greece seems to be in a comparatively favorable position because of lower restrictions and the availability of decent quality specialized medical facilities. This research is a market study with a business perspective and explores the emerging landscape of reproductive tourism (RT) in Greece. The research adopted mixed methods. First, open-ended questions were used to interview foreign medical tourists and staff in various AR clinics. Based on the insights from these interviews and guided by the extent literature, a survey instrument was prepared and administered among 130 patients. Findings indicate that Greece still lack policies that nurture transparency and dynamic response to technological changes in AR. Also, the travel industry lack specialists who can effectively liaison with clinics, who understand the availability of AR technologies, regulations, and the unique needs of AR tourists. Globally, the need for assisted reproduction has tremendously increased; yet, the supply of facilities is lagging far behind. There is a unique advantage for clinics located in touristic locations in countries that offer cheaper treatment options. Given the shape of its debt-ridden economy, Greece needs foreign exchange inflows and gaining first mover advantage in reproductive tourism is probably an important way to achieve this. This research draws up a reproductive tourism strategy for Greece.

The Small Rural Schools in Greece: A New Role in a Changing Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tressou-Milona, Evangelia

In Greece, "small schools" usually means those with less than 50, and perhaps, as few as 3 children. The isolation and inaccessibility of many regions, due to Greece's many mountain ranges and islands, have resulted in many small "schools of necessity." Even with the demographic shift to urban regions since World War II, 24…

Rickettsia species in human-parasitizing ticks in Greece.

PubMed

Papa, Anna; Xanthopoulou, Kyriaki; Kotriotsiou, Tzimoula; Papaioakim, Miltiadis; Sotiraki, Smaragda; Chaligiannis, Ilias; Maltezos, Efstratios

2016-05-01

Ticks serve as vectors and reservoirs for a variety of bacterial, viral and protozoan pathogens affecting humans and animals. Unusual increased tick aggressiveness was observed in 2008-2009 in northeastern Greece. The aim of the study was to check ticks removed from persons during 2009 for infection with Rickettsia species. A total of 159 ticks were removed from 147 persons who sought medical advice in a hospital. Tick identification was performed morphologically using taxonomic keys. DNA was extracted from each individual tick and a PCR assay targeting the rickettsial outer membrane protein A gene of Rickettsia spp. was applied. Most of the adult ticks (132/153, 86.3%) were Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Rickettsiae were detected in 23 of the 153 (15.0%) adult ticks. Five Rickettsiae species were identified: R. aeschlimannii, R. africae (n=6), R. massilae (4), R. monacensis (1), and Candidatus R. barbariae (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of R. africae, R. monacensis, and Candidatus R. barbariae in Greece. Several Rickettsia species were identified in ticks removed from humans in Greece, including those that are prevalent in northern and southern latitudes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Generics market in Greece: the pharmaceutical industry's beliefs.

PubMed

Geitona, Mary; Zavras, Dimitrios; Hatzikou, Magda; Kyriopoulos, John

2006-11-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the beliefs and perspectives of the pharmaceutical industry on generic medication in Greece. Questionnaires were mailed to all 58 members of the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies from November 2002 to February 2003. The response rate was 52%, namely 30 questionnaires were completed and returned. The questionnaire requested information on companies' involvement in generics, their opinion on generics' characteristics and on public policies affecting the demand and supply of generic medication. A descriptive analysis of the outcomes, that is percentage comparison through binomial tests and Fisher tests, was performed. According to our findings, 43% of the respondents were involved in the production and distribution of generics and the mean period of their involvement was 12 years. The majority of the respondents were in favor of their companies' involvement in generics, despite the relatively small market share of generics in Greece; 9.7% of total pharmaceutical market in 2003. Bearing in mind that in Greece the promotion of generics is not encouraged, pharmaceutical companies believe that the mandatory introduction of bioequivalence studies is an indirect promotional strategy towards generics. Additionally, the majority declared that their main competitive advantages are their safety, efficacy and effectiveness as well as their economic benefit to the society. Finally, the respondents expressed their preference for the introduction of pharmacoeconomic submissions for drugs' reimbursement by social insurance funds.

Nitrate, arsenic and chloride pollution of drinking water in Northern Greece. Elaboration by applying GIS.

PubMed

Fytianos, Konstantinos; Christophoridis, Christophoros

2004-01-01

The general profile of the pollution of drinking water, originating from groundwater, by nitrates, chloride and arsenic, in the Prefecture of Thessaloniki, was studied in this project. Samples (tap water) were collected from 52 areas-villages of the Prefecture, during a period of 6 months. The analytical results were related to certain points on the map of the area, thus producing coloured representations of the Prefecture, according to the concentration of the corresponding pollutant. The statistical analysis of the data led to some conclusions concerning the causes of pollution and the relation of the concentrations to certain physico-chemical parameters. Nitrate concentration of samples collected from two specific regions were especially high, sometimes above the highest permitted level. A limited number of samples (13.5%) contained arsenic concentrations above the imminent EC drinking water limit (10 ppb). The majority of the tap water samples, collected from areas along the seashore contained increased concentrations of chloride ions, which is a clear indication of seawater intrusion into the related aquifers.

Nutrient dynamics in shallow lakes of Northern Greece.

PubMed

Petaloti, Christina; Voutsa, Dimitra; Samara, Constantini; Sofoniou, Mihalis; Stratis, Ioannis; Kouimtzis, Themistocles

2004-01-01

GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Shallow lakes display a number of features that set them apart from the more frequently studied deeper systems. The majority of lakes in Northern Greece are small to moderate in size with a relatively low depth and are considered as sites of high value of the wetland habitat. However, the water quality of these lakes has only been evaluated segmentally and occasionally. The objectives of this study were to thoroughly investigate nitrogen and phosphorus speciation in lakes of a high ecological significance located in N. Greece, in order to evaluate their eutrophication status and possible nutrient limitation factors, and to investigate the main factors/sources that affect the water quality of these systems. An extensive survey was carried out during the period from 1998-1999. Water samples were collected on a monthly basis from lakes Koronia, Volvi, Doirani, Mikri Prespa and Megali Prespa located in N. Greece. Water quality parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity), organic indices (COD, BOD5), and N- and P-species (NO3(-), NO2(-), NH4(+), and PO4(3-), Kieldahl nitrogen and acid-hydrolysable phosphorus) were determined according to standard methods for surface water. Statistical treatment of the data was employed. The physicochemical parameters determined in the lakes studied revealed a high temporal variation. The trophic state of the lakes ranged from meso- to hypertrophic. The nutrient limiting factor varied among lakes suggesting either P-limitation conditions or mixed conditions changing from P- to N-limitation throughout the year. Urban/industrial activities and agricultural runoff are the major factors affecting all lakes, although with a varying contribution. This lake-specific research offers valuable information about water quality and nutrient dynamics in lakes of significant ecological value located in N. Greece that can be useful for an effective pollution control/management of these systems. Due to the

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Greece

PubMed Central

Sidira, Persefoni; Larichev, Victor; Gavrilova, Ludmila; Kuzmina, Ksenia; Mousavi-Jazi, Mehrdad; Mirazimi, Ali; Ströher, Ute; Nichol, Stuart

2014-01-01

Seroprevalence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is high in some regions of Greece, but only 1 case of disease has been reported. We used 4 methods to test 118 serum samples that were positive for CCHFV IgG by commercial ELISA and confirmed the positive results. A nonpathogenic or low-pathogenicity strain may be circulating. PMID:24447877

The Communist Army of Greece, 1947-1949: A Study of Its Failure

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-06-11

concerns throughout Greece. The total population categorized as urban dwellers ranged from 18 to 22 percent. In contrast to pure Marxist Doctrine, the...in this study. .. ^. 25 resistance fighters, a mass movement finally evolved . During the build-up there was no change in the higher levels of...2~. Stalin* Joseph. Marxism and the National Question. New York: International Publlshers7 T914-2. Stavrianos, L.S. Greece: American Dilema and

Public health services knowledge and utilization among immigrants in Greece: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background During the 90s, Greece has been transformed to a host country for immigrants mostly from the Balkans and Eastern European Countries, who currently constitute approximately 9% of the total population. Despite the increasing number of the immigrants, little is known about their health status and their accessibility to healthcare services. This study aimed to explore the perceived barriers to access and utilization of healthcare services by immigrants in Greece. Methods A pilot cross-sectional study was conducted from January to April 2012 in Athens, Greece. The study population consisted of 191 immigrants who were living in Greece for less than 10 years. We developed a questionnaire that included information about sociodemographic characteristics, health status, public health services knowledge and utilization and difficulties in health services access. Statistical analysis included Pearson’s ×2 test, ×2 test for trend, Student’s t-test, analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results Only 20.4% of the participants reported that they had a good/very good degree of knowledge about public health services in Greece. A considerable percentage (62.3%) of the participants needed at least once to use health services but they could not afford it, during the last year, while 49.7% used public health services in the last 12 months in Greece. Among the most important problems were long waiting times in hospitals, difficulties in communication with health professionals and high cost of health care. Increased ability to speak Greek was associated with increased health services knowledge (p<0.001). Increased family monthly income was also associated with less difficulties in accessing health services (p<0.001). Conclusions The empowerment and facilitation of health care access for immigrants in Greece is necessary. Depending on the needs of the migrant population, simple measures such as comprehensive information regarding the available

Molecular epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis in Greece, 2010–2015

PubMed Central

Arvanitidis, Athanasios; Giannaki-Psinaki, Maria; Michos, Athanasios; Krogfelt, Karen Angeliki; Petersen, Randi Føns

2018-01-01

Purpose To determine the predominant strains of Bordetella pertussis in Greece during 2010–2015. Methodology Infants and children (n=1150) (15 days to 14 years) of Greek, Roma and immigrant origin with different vaccination statuses were hospitalized in Athens, Greece with suspected pertussis infection. IS481/IS1001 real-time PCR confirmed Bordetella spp./B. pertussis infection in 300 samples. A subset of samples (n=153) were analysed by multi-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) and (n=25) by sequence-based typing of the toxin promotor region (ptxP) on DNA extracted from clinical specimens. Results/Key findings A complete MLVA profile was determined in 66 out of 153 samples; the B. pertussis MLVA type 27 (n=55) was the dominant genotype and all tested samples (n=25) expressed the ptxP3 genotype. The vaccine coverage in the Greek population was 90 %; however, the study population expressed complete coverage in 2 out of 264 infants (0–11 months) and in 20 out of 36 children (1–14 years). Roma and immigrant minorities represent 7 % of the Greek population, but make up 50 % of the study population, indicating a low vaccine coverage among these groups. Conclusions The B. pertussis MT27 and ptxP3 genotype is dominant in Greek, Roma and immigrant infants and children hospitalized in Greece. Thus, the predominant MLVA genotype in Greece is similar to other countries using acellular vaccines. PMID:29458550

Segmentation of the Hellenides recorded by Pliocene initiation of clockwise block rotation in Central Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradley, Kyle E.; Vassilakis, Emmanuel; Hosa, Aleksandra; Weiss, Benjamin P.

2013-01-01

New paleomagnetic data from Early Miocene to Pliocene terrestrial sedimentary and volcanic rocks in Central Greece constrain the history of vertical-axis rotation along the central part of the western limb of the Aegean arc. The present-day pattern of rapid block rotation within a broad zone of distributed deformation linking the right-lateral North Anatolian and Kephalonia continental transform faults initiated after Early Pliocene time, resulting in a uniform clockwise rotation of 24.3±6.5° over a region >250 km long and >150 km wide encompassing Central Greece and the western Cycladic archipelago. Because the published paleomagnetic dataset requires clockwise rotations of >50° in Western Greece after ˜17 Ma, while our measurements resolve no vertical-axis rotation of Central Greece between ˜15 Ma and post-Early Pliocene time, a large part of the clockwise rotation of Western Greece must have occurred during the main period of contraction within the external thrust belt of the Ionian Zone between ˜17 and ˜15 Ma. Pliocene initiation of rapid clockwise rotation in Central and Western Greece reflects the development of the North Anatolia-Kephalonia Fault system within the previously extended Aegean Sea region, possibly in response to entry of dense oceanic lithosphere of the Ionian Sea into the Hellenic subduction zone and consequent accelerated slab rollback. The development of the Aegean geometric arc therefore occurred in two short-duration pulses characterized by rapid rotation and strong regional deformation.

Evaluating Renewable Groundwater Stress with GRACE data in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmi, V.; Gemitzi, A.

2016-12-01

Groundwater is a resilient water source and its importance as a fundamental resource is even greater in times of drought where groundwater stress conditions are greatest for areas like Mediterranean and adverse climate change effects are expected. The present study evaluates Renewable Groundwater Stress (RGS) as the ratio of groundwater use to groundwater availability, quantifying use as the trend in GRACE-derived subsurface anomalies (ΔGWtrend) and renewable groundwater availability as mean annual recharge. Estimates for mean annual recharge were used from groundwater studies conducted for the various regions in Greece, mainly in the form of numerical models. Our results highlighted two RGS regimes in Greece out of the four characteristic stress regimes, i.e. Overstressed, Variable Stress, Human-Dominated Stress and Unstressed, defined as a function of the sign of use and the sign of groundwater availability (positive or negative). Variable Stress areas are found in central Greece (Thessaly region), where intense agricultural activities take place, with negative ΔGWtrend values combined with positive mean annual recharge rates. RGS values range from -0.05 - 0, indicating however a low impact area. Within this region, adverse effects of groundwater overexploitation are already evident, based on the negative GRACE anomalies, recharge however still remains positive, amending the adverse over pumping impacts. The rest of Greek aquifers fall within the unstressed category, with RGS values from 0.02 - 0.05, indicating that the rate of use is less than the natural recharge rate. The highest Unstressed RGS values are observed in Crete Island and in Northeastern Greece. However, the case of Crete is highly uncertain, as precipitation and recharge in this area demonstrate exceptionally high variability and the coarse resolution of GRACE results does not allow for reliable estimates.

Current status of stroke epidemiology in Greece: a panorama.

PubMed

Vasiliadis, Angelo V; Zikić, Milorad

2014-01-01

Although strokes have been documented since about 3 millennia, they remain today as one of the leading causes of mortality, as well as of subsequent serious long-term physical and mental morbidity, among patients in many different countries all over the world. Greece presents an increase in mortality rates according to World Health Organization, and this fact underlines the need for early diagnosis and treatment, as well as, the need to implement effective prevention strategies for strokes. This review makes an effort to describe the current status of stroke epidemiological features, as well as to present the risk factors prevalent in Greece. The incidence rate is 261-319/100,000 based on the recent population based registry. Stroke appears to be more prevalent in men than in women, and the mean age of stroke onset in Greece is at 70 years of age. Hypertension, atrial fibrillation, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus are the major risk factors of stroke in the Greek population, while smoking is the most commonly documented modifiable risk factor in young adults with ischemic stroke. Similar to other parts of the world, ischemic stroke is the most common stroke type. The 28-day case fatality rate for men and women was 26.5%. The mean in-hospital cost per stroke patient was 3624.9 € and the mean rehabilitation cost of outpatients with stroke was 5553.3 €, while the cost proportion of hemorrhagic stroke is higher when compared to ischemic stroke. Stroke is a devastating condition with recognized challenges in identifying effective prevention programs. In Greece, limited data exists regarding the epidemiology of strokes. As a result, the need to conduct new studies and researches across the country is well documented. Copyright © 2014 Polish Neurological Society. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

Photovoltaic energy production map of Greece based on simulated and measured data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vokas, Georgios A.; Lagogiannis, Konstantinos V.; Papageorgas, Panagiotis; Salame, Takla

2017-02-01

The aim of this research is in one hand to reveal the real energy production of a medium scale Photovoltaic (PV) plant located at different sites in Greece and on the other to compare measured data to the predicted ones resulted from one well-known, PV simulation software. During the last ten years a capacity of more than 2,5 GWp of PV systems has been installed in Greece. Almost 37% of the installations are ranged from 10 to 100 kWp due to favorable Feed-in-Tariff policy pricing, according to the Greek regulation. Previous investigations proved a remarkable difference between measured and predicted energy production in Greece regarding all PV systems technologies. For the purposes of this study more than 250 medium scale PV plants have been measured and more than 850 annually energy production data series for those parks have been collected. Those data constitute a great sample that has been compared to more than 225 simulations data resulted by a well-known web software for PV systems energy yield calculations with improved solar radiation database. Additionally, in order to have a visual feeling concerning the real PV energy yield footprint in Greece, an updated map has been developed and illustrated, providing a useful tool for both business and academic purposes.

Assessment of Grassland Health Based on Spatial Information Technology in Changji Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, M. J.; Zheng, J. H.; Mu, C.

2018-04-01

Based on the "pressure-state-response" (PSR) model, comprehensively applied GIS and RS techniques, 20 evaluation indicators were selected based on pressure, state and response, the entropy weight method was used to determine the weight of each index and build a grassland health evaluation system in Changji Prefecture, Xinjiang. Based on this, evaluation and dynamic analysis of grassland health in Changji Prefecture from 2000 to 2016, using GIS/RS technology, the trend of grassland health status in Changji is analyzed and studied. The results show that: 1) Grassland with low health leveld, lower health level, sub-health level, health level and high health level accounts for 1.46 %,27.67 %,38.35 %,29.21 % and 3.31 % of the total area of Changji. Qitai County, Hutubi County, and Manas County are lower health levels, Jimsar County, Changji City, and Mulei County are at a relatively high level, and Fukang City has a healthy level of health. 2) The level of grassland health in Changji County decreased slightly during the 17 years, accounting for 38.42 % of the total area. The area of 23,87 % showed a stable trend, and the improved area accounted for 37.31 % of the vertical surface area.

Working with Students with Special Educational Needs in Greece: Teachers' Stressors and Coping Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antoniou, Alexander-Stamatios; Polychroni, Fotini; Kotroni, Christina

2009-01-01

Few studies explore the specific sources of stress, and the coping strategies applied by teachers of children with special educational needs, particularly in small countries such as Greece. The present study investigated the specific work-related stressors affecting special educational needs teachers in Greece and the coping strategies applied by…

Mortality among Japanese construction workers in Mie Prefecture

PubMed Central

Sun, J; Kubota, H; Hisanaga, N; Shibata, E; Kamijima, M; Nakamura, K

2002-01-01

Aims: A historical cohort mortality study was conducted among 17 668 members of the Construction Workers' Health Insurance Society of Mie Prefecture in Japan, in order to verify the relation between occupations and mortality status. Methods: The cohort was followed from 2 April 1973 to 1 April 1998. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated for all members and each job classification. Results: 98.7% of the members were traced successfully until the date when the follow up terminated. When all members were considered together, significant excess mortality was observed for "accidents and adverse effects". Significant excess mortalities were also observed for lung cancers among scaffold men and ironworkers, for cancer of the oesophagus among plumbers, and for "chronic liver disease and cirrhosis" among scaffold men and painters. Conclusion: Results suggest that more detailed investigations, which would include some minor job classifications should be undertaken. This is an updated cohort study which was partially completed in 1997. PMID:12151606

The Determinants of Educational Achievement in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papas, George; Psacharopoulos, George

1991-01-01

Educational achievement and its relation to college admission were studied for 482 high school seniors in Athens (Greece) in mid-1985, whose grades and college entrance examination scores were reviewed. Consistency in the grading system and social equity in college admission were found. Pedagogical, socioeconomic, and policy implications are…

Changes in air temperature and its relation to ambulance transports due to heat stroke in all 47 prefectures of Japan.

PubMed

Murakami, Shoko; Miyatake, Nobuyuki; Sakano, Noriko

2012-09-01

Changes in air temperature and its relation to ambulance transports due to heat stroke in all 47 prefectures, in Japan were evaluated. Data on air temperature were obtained from the Japanese Meteorological Agency. Data on ambulance transports due to heat stroke was directly obtained from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Japan. We also used the number of deaths due to heat stroke from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, and population data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Chronological changes in parameters of air temperature were analyzed. In addition, the relation between air temperature and ambulance transports due to heat stroke in August 2010 was also evaluated by using an ecological study. Positive and significant changes in the parameters of air temperature that is, the mean air temperature, mean of the highest air temperature, and mean of the lowest air temperature were noted in all 47 prefectures. In addition, changes in air temperature were accelerated when adjusted for observation years. Ambulance transports due to heat stroke was significantly correlated with air temperature in the ecological study. The highest air temperature was significantly linked to ambulance transports due to heat stroke, especially in elderly subjects. Global warming was demonstrated in all 47 prefectures in Japan. In addition, the higher air temperature was closely associated with higher ambulance transports due to heat stroke in Japan.

Online Communities: The Case of Immigrants in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panaretou, Ioannis; Karousos, Nikos; Kostopoulos, Ioannis; Foteinou, Georgia-Barbara; Pavlidis, Giorgos

Immigrants in Greece are an increasing population, very often threatened by poverty and social exclusion. At the same time Greek government has no formal policy concerning their assimilation in Greek society and this situation generates multiple problems in both immigrants and native population. In this work we suggest that new technology can alleviate these effects and we present specific tools and methodologies adopted by ANCE, in order to support online communities and specifically immigrant communities in Greece. This approach has the potential to support immigrant communities' in terms of the organization of personal data, communication, and provision of a working space for dedicated use. The Information System's operational features are also presented, along with other characteristics and state-of-the-art features in order to propose a general direction to the design of online communities' mechanisms.

Genetic characterisation of Taenia multiceps cysts from ruminants in Greece.

PubMed

Al-Riyami, Shumoos; Ioannidou, Evi; Koehler, Anson V; Hussain, Muhammad H; Al-Rawahi, Abdulmajeed H; Giadinis, Nektarios D; Lafi, Shawkat Q; Papadopoulos, Elias; Jabbar, Abdul

2016-03-01

This study was designed to genetically characterise the larval stage (coenurus) of Taenia multiceps from ruminants in Greece, utilising DNA regions within the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (partial cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase 1 (pnad1) mitochondrial (mt) genes, respectively. A molecular-phylogenetic approach was used to analyse the pcox1 and pnad1 amplicons derived from genomic DNA samples from individual cysts (n=105) from cattle (n=3), goats (n=5) and sheep (n=97). Results revealed five and six distinct electrophoretic profiles for pcox1 and pnad1, respectively, using single-strand conformation polymorphism. Direct sequencing of selected amplicons representing each of these profiles defined five haplotypes each for pcox1 and pnad1, among all 105 isolates. Phylogenetic analysis of individual sequence data for each locus, including a range of well-defined reference sequences, inferred that all isolates of T. multiceps cysts from ruminants in Greece clustered with previously published sequences from different continents. The present study provides a foundation for future large-scale studies on the epidemiology of T. multiceps in ruminants as well as dogs in Greece. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Education on Economic Growth in Greece over the 1960-2000 Period

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsamadias, Constantinos; Prontzas, Panagiotis

2012-01-01

This paper examines the impact of education on economic growth in Greece over the period 1960-2000 by applying the model introduced by Mankiw, Romer, and Weil. The findings of the empirical analysis reveal that education had a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth in Greece over the period 1960-2000. The econometric…

Manpower Policy and Problems in Greece. Reviews of Manpower and Social Policies No. 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).

A full solution of the employment problems of countries in the stage of development now existing in Greece, to a great extent depends upon the possibilities of achieving the accumulation of capital necessary for the establishment of new industries and other investment. It is important for Greece to promote economic progress in the different…

The Preparation of School Psychologists in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatzichristou, Chryse; Polychroni, Fotini

2014-01-01

The paper describes the preparation of school psychologists in Greece. It discusses the social and cultural contexts that have influenced the evolution of the discipline of psychology, the beginning of training programs in school psychology, and the current status of school psychological services. The structure of the Graduate Program of School…

Mapping Environmental Suitability for Malaria Transmission, Greece

PubMed Central

Sudre, Bertrand; Rossi, Massimiliano; Van Bortel, Wim; Danis, Kostas; Baka, Agoritsa; Vakalis, Nikos

2013-01-01

During 2009–2012, Greece experienced a resurgence of domestic malaria transmission. To help guide malaria response efforts, we used spatial modeling to characterize environmental signatures of areas suitable for transmission. Nonlinear discriminant analysis indicated that sea-level altitude and land-surface temperature parameters are predictive in this regard. PMID:23697370

Sludge utilisation in agriculture: possibilities and prospects in Greece.

PubMed

Andreadakis, A D; Mamals, D; Gavalaki, E; Kampylafka, S

2002-01-01

The paper presents the prospects for agricultural utilisation of the sludge produced from wastewater treatment plants in Greece and more specifically focuses on a critical review of the legislatory framework, determination of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the produced sludges, examination of possible sludge treatment methods and evaluation of the possibilities and prospects of sludge utilisation on the basis of the above considerations. Landfilling is practically the only route to sludge disposal in Greece. However, in view of the anticipated future restrictions for landfilling within the European Union, this method is clearly a short-term solution and alternative options, including agricultural reuse, must be implemented. The results of a recent survey are presented and discussed in relation to this need.

Primary syphilis in HIV-negative patients is on the rise in Greece: epidemiological data for the period 2005-2012 from a tertiary referral centre in Athens, Greece.

PubMed

Kanelleas, A; Stefanaki, C; Stefanaki, I; Bezrondii, G; Paparizos, V; Arapaki, A; Kripouri, Z; Antoniou, C; Nicolaidou, E

2015-05-01

Epidemiological data on primary syphilis in Greece are limited. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the trends of the disease in Greece during the last few years and whether they are in accordance with the trends in other European countries and the United States of America. We conducted a retrospective analysis based on records of patients who visited the Sexually Transmitted Infections Unit of 'A. Sygros' Hospital in Athens, Greece, during the period 2005-2012. Our hospital is a tertiary referral centre for sexually transmitted infections covering an area of more than four million people, which is almost half the population of Greece. We documented the total annual number of patients, the male to female ratio, sexual orientation, patients' ethnic origin and education level. We reviewed the records of 1185 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of primary syphilis. The total number of patients with primary syphilis has risen from 111 in 2005 to 158 in 2012, an increase of 42.3%. The mean annual number is 148. The mean male to female ratio is 4.76 : 1, with a peak value of 8.50 : 1 in 2011. The majority of patients are of Greek origin, ranging from 67.4% to 87.2%. Within the male patients group, it seems that the percentage of men having sex with men has risen steadily from 2005 (20.7%) up to 2010 (59.1%) with a decline in 2012 (46.0%). The mean value over 8 years is 45.0%. Primary syphilis in Greece is on the rise. Τhe majority of our patients are Greek, despite immigrant influx. Men clearly outnumber women, representing more than 80% of the total number of patients. Furthermore, there seems to be a trend towards predominance of men having sex with men as the core group among male patients. © 2014 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

Educational Reform in Postwar Japan: A Case Study of the High School Entrance Examination in Chiba Prefecture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, David M.

In structure and in function, the Japanese high school entrance examination--as exemplified by data from Chiba prefecture in 1986--survives as a prewar hierarchical cultural pattern. Postwar American occupation reforms offered "democratic education" in the form of a single-track system with 9 years of compulsory schooling; such a system,…

Flow status of three transboundary rivers in Northern Greece as a tool for hydro-diplomacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatzigiannakis, Eyaggelos; Hatzispiroglou, Ioannis; Arampatzis, Georgios; Ilia, Andreas; Pantelakis, Dimitrios; Filintas, Agathos; Panagopoulos, Andreas

2015-04-01

The aim of this paper is to examine how the river flow monitoring consists a tool for hydro-diplomacy. Management of transboundary catchments and the demand of common water resources, often comprise the cause of conflicts and tension threatening the peaceful coexistence of nations. The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EU sets a base for water management contributing to common approaches, common goals, common principles as well as providing new definitions and measures for Europe's water resources. In northern Greece the main renewable resources are "imported" (over 25% of its water reserves) and for this reason the implementation of continuous flow measurements throughout the year is necessary, even though difficult to achieve. This paper focuses on the three largest transboundary rivers in Northern Greece. Axios and Strymonas river flow across the region of Central Macedonia in Northern Greece. Axios flows from FYROM to Greece, and Strymonas from Bulgaria to Greece. Nestos river flows from Bulgaria to Greece. The Greek part is in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Northern Greece. Significant productive agricultural areas around these rivers are irrigated from them so they are very important for the local society. Measurements of the river flow velocity and the flow depth have been made at bridges. The frequency of the measurements is roughly monthly, because it is expected a significant change in the depth flow and discharge. A series of continuously flow measure-ments were performed during 2013 and 2014 using flowmeters (Valeport and OTT type). The cross-section characteristics, the river flow velocity of segments and the mean water flow velocity and discharge total profile were measured and calculated re-spectively. Measurements are conducted in the framework of the national water resources monitoring network, which is realised in compliance to the Water Framework Directive under the supervision and coordination of the Hellenic Ministry for the

Women of Ancient Greece: Participating in Sport?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Brett D.

Based on evidence obtained from Greek literature and artifacts, this paper examines the extent to which women in ancient Greece participated in physical activity, sports, and games. Homer's "Odyssey" describes women playing ball and driving chariots; vases dating back to 700-675 B.C. portray women driving light chariots in a procession;…

CURRENT ENVIRONMENT FOR INTRODUCING HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT IN GREECE.

PubMed

Kani, Chara; Kourafalos, Vasilios; Litsa, Panagiota

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to describe the current regulatory environment in Greece to evaluate the potential introduction of health technology assessment (HTA) for medicinal products for human use. Data sources consist of national legislation on pricing and reimbursement of health technologies to identify the potential need of establishing HTA and its relevant structure. The pricing procedure regarding medicinal products for human use is based on an external reference pricing mechanism which considers the average of the three lowest Euorpean Union prices. Currently, a formal HTA procedure has not been applied in Greece, and the only prerequisite used for the reimbursement of medicinal products for human use is their inclusion in the Positive Reimbursement List. To restrict pharmaceutical expenditure, a variety of measures-such as clawback mechanisms, rebates, monthly budget caps per physician, generics penetration targeting-have been imposed, aiming mainly to regulate the price level rather than control the introduction of medicinal products for human use in the Greek pharmaceutical market. Greece has the opportunity to rapidly build capacity, implement, and take advantage of the application of HTA mechanisms by clearly defining the goals, scope, systems, context, stakeholders, and methods that will be involved in the local HTA processes, taking into account the country's established e-prescription system and the recently adapted legislative framework.

Suicide in Greece 1992-2012: A time-series analysis.

PubMed

Papaslanis, Theodoros; Kontaxakis, Vassilis; Christodoulou, Christos; Konstantakopoulos, George; Kontaxaki, Maria-Irini; Papadimitriou, George N

2016-08-01

Since 2008, Greece has entered a long period of economic crisis with adverse effects on various aspects of daily life. In this frame, it is quite important to examine the suicide trends in Greece. Our analysis covered the period 1992-2012. 2012 was the last year for which official suicide data were available. The inclusion of data for pre-crisis period enabled us to assess trends in suicide preceding the economic crisis, starting in 2008. Trends in sex- and age-adjusted standardized suicide rates (SSR) were analyzed using joinpoint regression. Total SSR presented statistically significant annual decrease of 0.89% (95% confidence interval (CI): -1.7, -0.1) during the period 1992-2008. After 2009, the trend in total SSR increased statistically significant annual increase (12.48%; 95% CI: 0.3%, 26.1%). SSR in males presented an initial period of modest annual decrease (-0.84%; 95% CI: -1.6%, -0.1%), during the period 1992-2008. After 2009, an annual increase by 9.25% (95% CI: 2.7%, 16.3%) was revealed. No change in female SSR trend was observed during the studied period. According to the results of this study, there is clear evidence of an increase in the overall SSR and male SSR in Greece during the period of the current financial crisis. © The Author(s) 2016.

Susceptibility of malaria vectors to DDT in Greece

PubMed Central

Livadas, Gregory A.; Thymakis, Kyriacos

1956-01-01

The authors describe an investigation, started in Greece in the autumn of 1953 and continued during the 1954 malaria-transmission season, to determine the variations in the susceptibility to DDT of the anophelines in different localities, with a view to establishing a point of departure which would make it possible to follow any future changes in susceptibility to this insecticide. The degree of susceptibility of the mosquitos to DDT was assessed numerically by both the technique of topical application of microdoses of the insecticide and the technique devised by Busvine & Nash. The villages of Elos and Asterion (Skála area), the Agoulinitsa area, and the Georgioupolis (Crete) area were chosen for the investigation. The findings disclosed considerable differences in the susceptibility to DDT in the above areas, but showed that, on the whole, the tendency for anophelines to acquire resistance to DDT seemed to be continuing in Greece. PMID:13404428

Adoption and use of e-invoicing in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinagi, C.; Trivellas, P.; Reklitis, Panagiotis; Skourlas, C.

2015-02-01

This paper investigates the adoption and use of electronic invoices (e-invoices) in Greek organizations. The study attempts to evaluate current practices applied in implementing e-invoicing. A field research has been conducted, which is based on a structured questionnaire. The target sample consisted of 42 Greek enterprises. The main issues of the investigation include the existing invoice processing practices, the barriers that prevent the extended adoption and use of e-invoicing, the observed benefits from e-invoicing implementation, and the strategic drivers for transition to e-invoicing. Currently, the use of e-invoicing in Greece is low. However, the research results testify that the adoption of e-invoicing in Greece is promising. Even though, a number of enterprises state that benefits of e-invoicing are not clear yet, the majority of enterprises agree that there are crucial financial priorities that e-invoicing is expected to support.

Effective educational practice of river learning by using of Hiikawa-river of elementary school, Shimane prefecture, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomoyuki, U.; Matsumoto, I.

2012-12-01

The importance of field learning has been increasing at elementary school and junior high school in Japan. However, In Japan, it is little actual situation that there is in an opportunity for the field learning enforced in the school science lesson. This tendency is strong as much as school of the city and that circumference. I think that this cause is that there are few suitable places for educational tool to observe geological field near the school. Children learn about "Function of running water" in Grade 5 of elementary school in Japan. Therefore, In this study, We remark the river called "Hiikawa-river" which flow in Izumo city, Shimane prefecture as the science teaching materials. Hiikawa is the river which flowing through the granitic rock district. Therefore We can observe granitic rock from in the upper stream, midstream, to the down stream. That is, we can observe the function of running water and diameter (size) of granitic boulders. It is mean that Hiikawa is the one of good educational tool for Children to learn the function of running water. Though it is the place where nature is comparatively rich even in Japan, it can't be said that field learning is relatively popular in Shimane prefecture. I think that teacher has to learning experience at field, because teacher should settle confidence to guide to the student at the field. That is, if it is not, you can not teach children with truly important of curriculum view point of natural and field science. In this research, we introduce practice of geological field learning at the public elementary school of the Shimane prefecture by using of Hiikawa as educational tool which children learn about the function of running water in grade 5, elementary school. In addition, we hope that this study contribute to teachers teaching method and to children natural science literacy.

Helminths of foxes and other wild carnivores from rural areas in Greece.

PubMed

Papdopoulos, H; Himonas, C; Papazahariadou, M; Antoniadou-Sotiriadou, K

1997-09-01

Twenty species of helminth parasites were identified from fox, wolf, jackal and wild cat material collected in Greece. Of the 314 foxes (Vulpes vulpes) examined, 18 helminth species were recovered comprising one trematode, eight cestodes, seven nematodes and two acanthocephalans, with the cestode species Mesocestoides sp. (73.2%), Joyeuxiella echinorhynchoides (24.5%) and the nematode species Uncinaria stenocephala (43.9%), and Toxara canis (28.6%) being the most prevalent. Five cestode and three nematode species were reported from six wolves (CaniS lupus), together with one trematode, three cestode and four nematode species from five jackals (Canis aureus) and two cestode and three nematode species from four wild cats (Felis silvestris) examined. The species J. echinorhynchoides, Taenia crassiceps and Onicola canis and the genera Spirometra, Rictularia and Pachysentis are reported here for the first time in Greece. The results are discussed in the light of the feeding characteristics of wild carnivores in rural areas of Greece.

Solidarity outpatient clinics in Greece: a survey of a massive social movement.

PubMed

Evlampidou, Iro; Kogevinas, Manolis

2018-03-06

Until 2016, around 3 million persons had limited access to health care in Greece due to the economic crisis. We describe a massive solidarity movement of community clinics and pharmacies in Greece. We conducted a survey in 2014-15 and describe the characteristics of community clinics and pharmacies spontaneously established all over Greece after 2008. A characteristic of the 92 active solidarity clinics is autonomous collective functioning, free services, and funding from non-governmental sources. The largest clinics examined more than 500 uninsured or partly insured patients per month. Clinics covered a wide range of clinical and preventive services. Funding, availability of drugs, vaccines, medical material and their legal status were the main problems identified. The solidarity movement involved thousands of health professionals covering essential population needs. The community outpatient clinics were an outstanding example of solidarity and temporarily alleviated the health needs of a large part of the population. Copyright © 2018 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

A remarkable new species of Nemoura (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) from Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, China.

PubMed

Qian, Yu-Han; Xiao, Qian; Chen, Zhi-Teng; Du, Yu-Zhou

2018-01-24

A new species of the genus Nemoura, N. latilongispina sp. nov. from Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, southwestern China is described and illustrated. The new species is characterized by ventral sclerite of epiproct extended laterally, forming upcurved plates fringed with long spines along upper margin, and by the strongly sclerotized, fork-shaped cercus.

Spatial and temporal variability of Aridity Index in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nastos, Panagiotis; Politi, Nadia; Douvis, Kostas

2010-05-01

Drought events have deteriorated in most European regions during the last decades in frequency, duration, or intensity. Besides, increased drying associated with higher temperatures and decreased precipitation have contributed to changes in drought. Drought-affected areas are projected to increase in extent, with the potential for adverse impacts on multiple sectors, e.g. agriculture, water supply, energy production and health, according to IPCC. The objective of this study is the spatial and temporal variability of the Aridity Index (AI) per decade, in Greece during the period 1951-2000, as far as the projections of AI for the period 2051-2100, based on simulations of ensemble regional climate models (RCMs), for A1B SRES scenario. The climatic data used for the analysis concern monthly values of precipitation and air temperature from 28 meteorological stations; 22 stations from the National Hellenic Meteorological Service and 6 stations from neighboring countries. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), AI is defined as P/PET, where P is the average annual precipitation and PET is the potential evapotranspiration, estimated by the Thornthwaite method; PET and P must be expressed in same units, e.g., in milimetres. All the meteorological data processing was carried out by the application of Geographical Information System (GIS). The results of the analysis showed that within the examined period a clear shift from "humid" class that characterized the greater area of Greece in 1950's to "sub-humid" and "semi-dry" classes appeared in mainly the eastern regions of Greece, such as eastern Crete Island, Cyclades Islands, Evia and Attica in 1990's. The future projections derived by the simulations of ensemble RCMs indicated that drier conditions are very likely to appear in Greece associated with significant socio-economic consequences. The decreasing precipitation along with the high rates of evapotranspiration, because of increase in the air

Higher Education in Greece Compared to Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miliotis, Helen

2014-01-01

This paper compares and contrasts higher education in Canada and Greece. An overview of the systems in place is followed by an analysis centred on the triad of funding, access and quality. Similarities and differences are highlighted, and the current challenges and issues faced by both nations will be examined, especially in terms of world…

Stirring the Waters: University INSET in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattheoudakis, Marina; Nicolaidis, Katerina

2005-01-01

In view of the increasing demand for in-service training in Greece, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki launched English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher training courses, offered for the first time by a Greek state university. This paper discusses issues regarding the design and running of the courses as well as briefly presenting trainee…

Constructed wetlands for wastewater and activated sludge treatment in north Greece: a review.

PubMed

Tsihrintzis, V A; Gikas, G D

2010-01-01

Constructed wetlands used for the treatment of urban, industrial and agricultural wastewater have become very popular treatment systems all over the world. In Greece, these systems are not very common, although the climate is favourable for their use. During recent years, there have been several attempts for the implementation of these systems in Greece, which include, among others, pilot-scale systems used for research, and full-scale systems designed and/or constructed to serve settlements or families. The purpose of this paper is the presentation of systems operating in Northern Greece, which have been studied by the Laboratory of Ecological Engineering and Technology of Democritus University of Thrace and others. A comparison is made of different system types, and the effect of various design and operational parameters is presented. Current research shows the good and continuous performance of these systems.

Spatio-temporal distribution of absorbing and non-absorbing aerosols derived from Aura-OMI Aerosol Index over Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaskaoutis, D. G.; Nastos, P. T.; Kosmopoulos, P. G.; Kambezidis, H. D.; Kharol, S. K.; Badarinath, K. V. S.

2009-04-01

The Aerosol Index (AI) observations derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board the Dutch-Finnish Aura satellite are analyzed over Greece covering the whole period of the OMI available data, from September 2004 to August 2008. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatial, seasonal and inter-annual variability of AI over Greece, detected by OMI during 2004-2008, with an evaluation of potential contributing factors, including precipitation and long-range transport (Sahara dust and European pollution). The AI data cover the whole Greek territory (34o-42oN, 20o-28oE) with a spatial resolution of 0.25o x 0.25o (13 km x 24 km at nadir). The results show significant spatial and temporal variability of the seasonal and monthly mean AI, with higher values at the southern parts and lower values over northern Greece. On the other hand, the AI values do not show significant differences between the western and eastern parts and, therefore, the longitude-averaged AI values can be utilized to reveal the strong south-to-north gradient. This gradient significantly changes from season to season being more intense in spring and summer, while it is minimized in winter. Another significant remark is the dominance of negative AI values over northern Greece in the summer months, indicating the presence of non-UV absorbing aerosols, such as sulfate and sea-salt particles. The great geographical extent of the negative AI values in the summer months is indicative of long-range transport of such aerosols. In contrast, the high positive AI values over south Greece, mainly in spring, clearly reveal the UV-absorbing nature of desert-dust particles affecting the area during Saharan dust events. Synoptically, the spatial distribution in OMI-AI values was related to the Saharan dust events mainly over southern Greece and to the trans-boundary-pollution transport, consisting mainly of sulfate particles, in northern Greece. The annual variation of spatial-averaged AI values

An overview of solar energy applications in buildings in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papamanolis, Nikos

2016-09-01

This work classifies and describes the main fields of solar energy exploitation in buildings in Greece, a country with high solar energy capacities. The study focuses on systems and technologies that apply to residential and commercial buildings following the prevailing design and construction practices (conventional buildings) and investigates the effects of the architectural and constructional characteristics of these buildings on the respective applications. In addition, it examines relevant applications in other building categories and in buildings with increased ecological sensitivity in their design and construction (green buildings). Through its findings, the study seeks to improve the efficiency and broaden the scope of solar energy applications in buildings in Greece to the benefit of their energy and environmental performance.

Survey of medico-legal investigation of homicide in the region of Epirus (Northwest Greece).

PubMed

Fragkouli, Kleio; Boumba, Vassiliki; Vougiouklakis, Theodore

2016-01-01

This study analyzed the forensic features of homicides in North-West Greece (Epirus) from 1998 to 2013, a borderland area between Greece and Albania. Although Greece is critically influenced by both the increasing flow of refugees and the current socioeconomic crisis, very little information has been published regarding the patterns of homicide in the country. Fifty-eight autopsied victims (36 males; 22 females) were investigated. The median age was 37 years old. The average annual homicide rate was 0.85 per 100,000 inhabitants and showed remarkable fluctuation, with largest increase during Greek financial downturn. Sixteen victims were not Greek citizens. The most common method of commitment was the use of firearm (40%). The main motives were economical causes (26%) and passion (14%). Four cases were categorized as matricide (7%), 3 as homicide-suicide (5%), 2 as patricide (3%) and 1 as infanticide (2%). Toxicological analysis proved negative for ethanol and other psychotropic substances in the majority of the victims (50%). There is an urgent need for public actions both in Epirus and in Greece, with the application of effective strategies against criminality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Radioactive materials deposition in Iwate prefecture, northeast japan, due to the Fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Hideyuki

2013-04-01

A catastrophic earthquake occurred in March 11, 2011, and additional tsunami gave the big damage along the pacific coastline of the northeast Japan. Tsunami also caused the accident of Fukushima dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FNPP), released of massive amount of radioactive materials to all over the northeast to central Japan. Ministry of Education, cultural, sports, science and technology (MEXT), Japan, carried out the airborne monitoring survey on several times, however, it is impossible to know the deposition of low level radiation under 0.1μSv/h. On the other hand, radioactive material was detected in Iwate by farm and livestock products, and it was necessary to understand an accurate contamination status in Iwate prefecture. Behavior of radioactive material is very similar to the ashfall by the volcanic eruption. Therefore, it is possible to apply the knowledge of volcanology to evaluation of the natural radiation dose. The author carried out the detailed contamination mapping across the Iwate prefecture. To γ-ray measurement, using scintillation counter A2700 of the clearpulse, measured on 1m grass field above ground, for one minute. The total measurement point became more than 800 point whole in Iwate. Field survey were carried out from April to November, 2011, therefore, it is necessary to consider to the half - life of the radioactive element of the cesium 134 and 137. In this study, the author reconstructed a deposition of April, 2011, just after the accident. In addition, the author also carried out the revision of the natural radiation dose included in the granite and so on. From the result, Concentration of radioactive materials depend on the topography, it tend to high concentrate in the basin or along the valley. The feeble deposition 0.01-0.2μsv/h with the radioactive material was recognized in whole prefecture. High contamination area distributed over the E-W directions widely in the southern part of the prefecture, and it also existence of the

Historical and Contemporary Aspects of the Relationship between the State and Adult Education in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boucouvalas, Marcie

An outgrowth of earlier research on historical and contemporary adult education in Greece, this paper provides highlights of the relationship between the state and adult education in that country. The highlights are organized by the following historical periods: prehistory (c. 3000-1100 B.C.); early and archaic Greece (c. 1100-700 B.C.);…

Syndromic Surveillance Models Using Web Data: The Case of Influenza in Greece and Italy Using Google Trends.

PubMed

Samaras, Loukas; García-Barriocanal, Elena; Sicilia, Miguel-Angel

2017-11-20

An extended discussion and research has been performed in recent years using data collected through search queries submitted via the Internet. It has been shown that the overall activity on the Internet is related to the number of cases of an infectious disease outbreak. The aim of the study was to define a similar correlation between data from Google Trends and data collected by the official authorities of Greece and Europe by examining the development and the spread of seasonal influenza in Greece and Italy. We used multiple regressions of the terms submitted in the Google search engine related to influenza for the period from 2011 to 2012 in Greece and Italy (sample data for 104 weeks for each country). We then used the autoregressive integrated moving average statistical model to determine the correlation between the Google search data and the real influenza cases confirmed by the aforementioned authorities. Two methods were used: (1) a flu score was created for the case of Greece and (2) comparison of data from a neighboring country of Greece, which is Italy. The results showed that there is a significant correlation that can help the prediction of the spread and the peak of the seasonal influenza using data from Google searches. The correlation for Greece for 2011 and 2012 was .909 and .831, respectively, and correlation for Italy for 2011 and 2012 was .979 and .933, respectively. The prediction of the peak was quite precise, providing a forecast before it arrives to population. We can create an Internet surveillance system based on Google searches to track influenza in Greece and Italy. ©Loukas Samaras, Elena García-Barriocanal, Miguel-Angel Sicilia. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 20.11.2017.

The impact of economic austerity and prosperity events on suicide in Greece: a 30-year interrupted time-series analysis

PubMed Central

Branas, Charles C; Kastanaki, Anastasia E; Michalodimitrakis, Manolis; Tzougas, John; Kranioti, Elena F; Theodorakis, Pavlos N; Carr, Brendan G; Wiebe, Douglas J

2015-01-01

Objectives To complete a 30-year interrupted time-series analysis of the impact of austerity-related and prosperity-related events on the occurrence of suicide across Greece. Setting Greece from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 2012. Participants A total of 11 505 suicides, 9079 by men and 2426 by women, occurring in Greece over the study period. Primary and secondary outcomes National data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority assembled as 360 monthly counts of: all suicides, male suicides, female suicides and all suicides plus potentially misclassified suicides. Results In 30 years, the highest months of suicide in Greece occurred in 2012. The passage of new austerity measures in June 2011 marked the beginning of significant, abrupt and sustained increases in total suicides (+35.7%, p<0.001) and male suicides (+18.5%, p<0.01). Sensitivity analyses that figured in undercounting of suicides also found a significant, abrupt and sustained increase in June 2011 (+20.5%, p<0.001). Suicides by men in Greece also underwent a significant, abrupt and sustained increase in October 2008 when the Greek recession began (+13.1%, p<0.01), and an abrupt but temporary increase in April 2012 following a public suicide committed in response to austerity conditions (+29.7%, p<0.05). Suicides by women in Greece also underwent an abrupt and sustained increase in May 2011 following austerity-related events (+35.8%, p<0.05). One prosperity-related event, the January 2002 launch of the Euro in Greece, marked an abrupt but temporary decrease in male suicides (−27.1%, p<0.05). Conclusions This is the first multidecade, national analysis of suicide in Greece using monthly data. Select austerity-related events in Greece corresponded to statistically significant increases for suicides overall, as well as for suicides among men and women. The consideration of future austerity measures should give greater weight to the unintended mental health consequences that may follow and the public

Historical overview of spinal deformities in ancient Greece

PubMed Central

Vasiliadis, Elias S; Grivas, Theodoros B; Kaspiris, Angelos

2009-01-01

Little is known about the history of spinal deformities in ancient Greece. The present study summarizes what we know today for diagnosis and management of spinal deformities in ancient Greece, mainly from the medical treatises of Hippocrates and Galen. Hippocrates, through accurate observation and logical reasoning was led to accurate conclusions firstly for the structure of the spine and secondly for its diseases. He introduced the terms kyphosis and scoliosis and wrote in depth about diagnosis and treatment of kyphosis and less about scoliosis. The innovation of the board, the application of axial traction and even the principle of trans-abdominal correction for correction of spinal deformities have their origin in Hippocrates. Galen, who lived nearly five centuries later impressively described scoliosis, lordosis and kyphosis, provided aetiologic implications and used the same principles with Hippocrates for their management, while his studies influenced medical practice on spinal deformities for more than 1500 years. PMID:19243609

Adoption and use of e-invoicing in Greece

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marinagi, C., E-mail: marinagi@teihal.gr, E-mail: ptrivel@yahoo.com, E-mail: preklitis@yahoo.com; Trivellas, P., E-mail: marinagi@teihal.gr, E-mail: ptrivel@yahoo.com, E-mail: preklitis@yahoo.com; Reklitis, Panagiotis, E-mail: marinagi@teihal.gr, E-mail: ptrivel@yahoo.com, E-mail: preklitis@yahoo.com

2015-02-09

This paper investigates the adoption and use of electronic invoices (e-invoices) in Greek organizations. The study attempts to evaluate current practices applied in implementing e-invoicing. A field research has been conducted, which is based on a structured questionnaire. The target sample consisted of 42 Greek enterprises. The main issues of the investigation include the existing invoice processing practices, the barriers that prevent the extended adoption and use of e-invoicing, the observed benefits from e-invoicing implementation, and the strategic drivers for transition to e-invoicing. Currently, the use of e-invoicing in Greece is low. However, the research results testify that the adoptionmore » of e-invoicing in Greece is promising. Even though, a number of enterprises state that benefits of e-invoicing are not clear yet, the majority of enterprises agree that there are crucial financial priorities that e-invoicing is expected to support.« less

Legal capacity of the elderly in Greece.

PubMed

Giannouli, Vaitsa; Tsolaki, Magda

2014-01-01

Legal capacity of the elderly people in Greece is of great legal, medical and social importance, but has received little attention till now from medical literature. This paper aims to study whether elderly people with dementia are able to participate in legal contracts like sales, purchases, loans, leases, donations and testaments. We tried to introduce a new test for the above legal-financial contracts and show some preliminary findings. The test consists of six examined relevant domains concerning basic monetary skills, cash transactions, bank statement management, financial conceptual knowledge, knowledge of potential heirs (beneficiaries) and assets/estate and finally the decision making process for different dilemmas on sales, purchases, loans, leases, donations and testaments. We studied 203 people. Eighty three people were healthy, 64 with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (10 with severe AD, 22 with moderate, and 32 with mild AD), 10 with Parkinson's disease (PD), and 46 with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI). Individuals were included in the study only if they were aged 60 and over and only if they had a partner or a guardian who could give information on the individual's daily living. The exclusion criteria were predefined as follows: history of any other mental health disease and/or any other serious somatic health disease except for their official diagnosis of dementia. Results showed statistically significant differences with all three groups of patients characterized as incapable for legal-financial actions. Patients with severe AD (P<0.001), patients with moderate AD (P<0.001), patients with mild AD (P<0.001), patients with PD (P<0.001) and aMCI patients (P<0.001) differed significantly from healthy controls. Further research should include more extensive sampling of elderly patients with varying demographic characteristics in Greece, to confirm and expand our initial findings. In conclusion, our new test which is based on Marson's theoretical model

Epidemiology and genetic diversity of criniviruses associated with tomato yellows disease in Greece.

PubMed

Orfanidou, C G; Dimitriou, C; Papayiannis, L C; Maliogka, V I; Katis, N I

2014-06-24

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) and Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV) are two whitefly transmitted viruses which are classified in the genus Crinivirus of the family Closteroviridae. Both induce similar yellowing symptoms in tomato and are responsible for severe economic losses. ToCV is transmitted by Bemisia tabaci Gennadious, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood and Trialeurodes abutilonea Haldeman, whereas TICV is transmitted only by T. vaporariorum. An extensive study was conducted during 2009-2012 in order to identify the virus species involved in tomato yellowing disease in Greece. Samples from tomato, other crops and weeds belonging to 44 species from 26 families were collected and analyzed using molecular methods. In addition, adult whiteflies were collected and analyzed using morphological characters and DNA markers. Results showed that TICV prevailed in tomato crops (62.5%), while ToCV incidence was lower (20.5%) and confined in southern Greece. ToCV was also detected in lettuce plants showing mild yellowing symptoms for the first time in Greece. Approximately 13% of the tested weeds were found to be infected, with TICV being the predominant virus with an incidence of 10.8%, whereas ToCV was detected only in 2.2% of the analyzed samples. These results indicate that the host range of TICV and ToCV in Greece is far more extensive than previously believed. T. vaporariorum was the most widespread whitefly species in Greece (80%), followed by B. tabaci (biotypes B and Q) (20%). Sequence analysis of the CP and CPm genes from Greek tomato and weed isolates of ToCV and TICV showed that even though both viruses have very wide host ranges their populations show very low molecular divergence. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

'Allowing the right' and its currency in managing drug stigma in Greece.

PubMed

Fotopoulou, Maria; Munro, Alison; Taylor, Avril

2015-08-01

Evidence suggests that problem drug users are still subject to high levels of stigmatization. In countries, like Greece, where families occupy a central position and honour is collectively attained, secondary drug stigma is also highly prevalent. However, little is known about how drug users and their families manage drug stigma in the specific cultural milieu that makes up Greece. This article presents findings from a qualitative study exploring how drug stigma both manifests itself and is managed by drug users and parents in the context of Greek familial culture. The study was conducted in two state drug agencies in Thessaloniki - Greece and involved the participation of 40 problem drug users (PDU) (23 male/17 female) and 8 parents of PDU. Qualitative, in-depth, interviews were used to collect narrative accounts about experiences of managing addiction, drug stigma and secondary stigma in the Greek parental home. 'Allowing the right' - broadly understood as referring to passing to others information which might devalue a person and consequently that person's family - is discussed in terms of drug stigma management in Greece. We highlight how this culturally specific notion can be viewed as an active strategy adopted by both individual drug users and parents of PDU to manage stigmatization by illustrating the various way in which not 'allowing the right' was described by participants, including drug problem discovery or disclosure and subsequent management of drug using careers and drug stigma within the Greek family context. Given the significance of the cultural notion of 'allowing the right' in the trajectory of drug use amongst PDU and more particularly in stigma management and secondary stigma management, the paper highlights the need for further research into the field in Greece. The need for targeted culturally specific and culturally relevant interventions aimed at reducing drug stigma is also highlighted in relation to both policy and practice. Copyright �

An Enlightened Use of Educational Monitoring for Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korilaki, Panayota

2006-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to discuss the issues surrounding educational monitoring systems. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is a general review of the situation in Greece. Findings: This paper suggests that a superior educational monitoring system aiming to alleviate educational and social inequalities as well as discrepancies between…

Operating results and reinjection of Milos field in Greece

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hibara, Y.; Tahara, M.; Sakanashi, H.

1989-01-01

The Milos geothermal prospect located on one of the Cycladean islands of Greece represents a high temperature (320{sup 0}C), high silica content (1150 ppm) modified sea water resource. The program of development under taken by the Public Power Corporation (PPC) of Greece started with the drilling of a number of wells and has progressed to the installation of a pilot-style 2MW(e) condensing power plant which went on-line in December 1986. This plant has been provided by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) under a contract with PPC. Geothermal South Pacific (GEOSPAC) was sub-contracted to MHI to provide technical and scientific assistance inmore » connection with reservoir related matters. The authors present the various studies and modification that were done to establish an acceptable method of plant operation and waste disposal.« less

Family Language Policies among Albanian Immigrants in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chatzidaki, Aspassia; Maligkoudi, Christina

2013-01-01

This article reports on an investigation of family language policies among 37 Albanian immigrant families in Northern Greece within the framework of Spolsky's language policy model. Data collection was based on semi-directed interviews with parents which were analysed using both content and discourse analysis. According to our findings, three…

School Psychology in Greece: A System of Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Theodore, Lea A.; Bray, Melissa A.; Kehle, Thomas J.; Dioguardi, Richard J.

2002-01-01

Discusses origin of school psychology in Greece which emerged with services for mentally disabled in 1937. Explains how laws were instituted with the growing demand for educational services for students with social and emotional needs. Includes discussions on diverse roles of school psychologists, present status of special education, and influence…

Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in female sex workers in Athens, Greece - 2005.

PubMed

Papadogeorgaki, H; Caroni, C; Frangouli, E; Flemetakis, A; Katsambas, A; Hadjivassiliou, M

2006-01-01

There is little data on the prevalence of STIs in female sex workers, Greek and immigrants, working in Athens, Greece, since most of them work without any form of official license. Our aim was to establish the prevalence of STIs in asymptomatic legal Greek and immigrant female sex workers in Athens, Greece. The study involved an evaluation of gonococcal and chlamydial infection, early infectious syphilis, HIV infection, HSV-2 infection, Hepatitis B and C in 299 female sex workers who applied for an official work permit between May 2005 and October 2005. HSV-2 infection was more common in the Greek sex workers. No difference was found for the other STIs. Prevalence was related to age. A significant association was found between HSV-2 and syphilis. No HIV infection was detected. We concluded that asymptomatic sex workers can be a source of STIs which points out the need for a better health system control in Greece.

The differential impact of the financial crisis on Health in Ireland and Greece: A quasi-experimental approach

PubMed Central

Hessel, P; Vandoros, S; Avendano, M

2015-01-01

Objectives Greece and Ireland suffered an economic recession of similar magnitude, but whether their health has deteriorated as a result has not yet been well established. Study design Based on five waves (2006-2010) of the European Union Statistics of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey we implemented a difference-in-differences (DID) approach that compared trends in self-rated health in Greece and Ireland before and after the crisis with trends in a control population (Poland) that did not experience a recession and had health trends comparable to both countries before the crisis. Methods Logistic regression using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach. Results A simple examination of trends suggests that there was no significant change in health in Greece or Ireland following the onset of the financial crisis. However, DID estimates that incorporated a control population suggest an increase in the prevalence of poor-self rated health in Greece (OR=1.216; CI=1.11 - 1.32). Effects were most pronounced for older individuals and those living in high-density areas, but effects in Greece were overwhelmingly consistent in different population sub-groups. In contrast, DID estimates revealed no effect of the financial crisis in Ireland (OR=0.97; CI=0.81-1.16). Conclusions Contradicting results from a simple comparison of single-country trends, DID estimates suggest that the financial crisis has led to deterioration of population health trends in Greece but not in Ireland, where policies may have prevented a worsening of health as a result of the recent economic crisis. PMID:25369355

Modelling Seasonal Brucellosis Epidemics in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture of Xinjiang, China, 2010–2014

PubMed Central

Lou, Pengwei; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Xueliang; Xu, Jiabo

2016-01-01

Brucellosis is one of the severe public health problems; the cumulative number of new human brucellosis cases reached 211515 from 2010 to 2014 in China. Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture is situated in the southeast of Xinjiang, where brucellosis infection occurs every year. Based on the reported data of newly acute human brucellosis cases for each season in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, we proposed a susceptible, exposed, infected, and vaccinated (SEIV) model with periodic transmission rates to investigate the seasonal brucellosis transmission dynamics among sheep/cattle and from sheep/cattle to humans. Compared with the criteria of MAPE and RMSPE, the model simulations agree to the data on newly acute human brucellosis. We predict that the number of newly acute human brucellosis is increasing and will peak 15325 [95% CI: 11920–18242] around the summer of 2023. We also estimate the basic reproduction number R 0 = 2.5524 [95% CI: 2.5129–2.6225] and perform some sensitivity analysis of the newly acute human brucellosis cases and the basic reproduction number R 0 in terms of model parameters. Our study demonstrates that reducing the birth number of sheep/cattle, raising the slaughter rate of infected sheep/cattle, increasing the vaccination rate of susceptible sheep/cattle, and decreasing the loss rate of vaccination are effective strategies to control brucellosis epidemic. PMID:27872852

Big Events in Greece and HIV Infection Among People Who Inject Drugs

PubMed Central

Nikolopoulos, Georgios K.; Sypsa, Vana; Bonovas, Stefanos; Paraskevis, Dimitrios; Malliori-Minerva, Melpomeni; Hatzakis, Angelos; Friedman, Samuel R.

2015-01-01

Big Events are processes like macroeconomic transitions that have lowered social well-being in various settings in the past. Greece has been hit by the global crisis and experienced an HIV outbreak among people who inject drugs. Since the crisis began (2008), Greece has seen population displacement, inter-communal violence, cuts in governmental expenditures, and social movements. These may have affected normative regulation, networks, and behaviors. However, most pathways to risk remain unknown or unmeasured. We use what is known and unknown about the Greek HIV outbreak to suggest modifications in Big Events models and the need for additional research. PMID:25723309

New records and updated checklist of Cicadomorpha (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha) species from Greece.

PubMed

Thanou, Zoi N; Afentoulis, Dimitrios G; Koufopoulou, Panagiota; Ampatzi, Argyro P; Lekkou, Sofia D; Koutsogiannopoulou, Αikaterini; Bravou, Anastasia A; Stamatakou, Georgia D; Voulgaraki, Konstantina N; Piperkas, Anastasios; Chaldaiou, Aikaterini; Kalaitzaki, Argyro P; Tsagkarakis, Antonios E

2018-04-20

Seventeen auchenorrhynchan species of the family Cicadellidae are recorded from Greece for the first time: Euscelidius variegatus (Kirschbaum 1858), Euscelis ohausi (Wagner 1939), Psammotettix notatus (Melichar 1896), Psammotettix striatus (Linnaeus 1758), Psammotettix sabulicola (Curtis 1837), Anzygina honiloa (Kirkaldy 1906), Arboridia versuta (Melichar 1897), Edwardsiana ishidae (Matsumura 1932), Edwardsiana tersa (Edwards 1914), Eupteryx decemnotata (Rey 1891), Eupteryx curtisii (Flor 1861), Eupteryx rostrata (Ribaut 1936), Frutioidia sanguinosa (Rey 1891), Zygina rosea (Flor 1861), Zygina suavis (Rey 1891), Zygina tiliae (Fallen 1806), Anaceratagallia frisia (Wagner 1939). Faunistic and distributional data notes are given for each species and a complete, updated species checklist for Greece is provided.

Rainfall erosivity in the Fukushima Prefecture: implications for radiocesium mobilization and migration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laceby, J. Patrick; Chartin, Caroline; Degan, Francesca; Onda, Yuichi; Evrard, Olivier; Cerdan, Olivier; Ayrault, Sophie

2015-04-01

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) accident in March 2011 led to the fallout of predominantly radiocesium (137Cs and 134Cs) on soils of the Fukushima Prefecture. This radiocesium was primarily fixated to fine soil particles. Subsequently, rainfall and snow melt run-off events result in significant quantities of radiocesium being eroded and transported throughout the coastal catchments and ultimately exported to the Pacific Ocean. Erosion models, such as the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), relate rainfall directly to soil erosion in that an increase in rainfall one month will directly result in a proportional increase in sediment generation. Understanding the rainfall regime of the region is therefore fundamental to modelling and predicting long-term radiocesium export. Here, we analyze rainfall data for ~40 stations within a 100 km radius of the FDNPP. First we present general information on the rainfall regime in the region based on monthly and annual rainfall totals. Second we present general information on rainfall erosivity, the R-factor of the USLE equation and its relationship to the general rainfall data. Third we examine rainfall trends over the last 100 years at several of the rainfall stations to understand temporal trends and whether ~20 years of data is sufficient to calculate the R-factor for USLE models. Fourth we present monthly R-factor maps for the Fukushima coastal catchments impacted by the FDNPP accident. The variability of the rainfall in the region, particularly during the typhoon season, is likely resulting in a similar variability in the transfer and migration of radiocesium throughout the coastal catchments of the Fukushima Prefecture. Characterizing the region's rainfall variability is fundamental to modelling sediment and the concomitant radiocesium migration and transfer throughout these catchments and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean.

Academic Entrepreneurship, Innovation Policies and Politics in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arapostathis, Stathis

2010-01-01

This paper explores the process of the emergence in Greece of the "Triple Helix", and the nature of the "Helix" in the context of the concurrent changes occurring in Greek socio-political affairs. The influence of politics and innovation policies on the relationships between academia and government and industry is considered.…

Knowledge, Attitudes and Proposals of Medical Students Concerning Transplantations in Greece

PubMed Central

Dardavessis, Theodore; Xenophontos, Pantelis; Haidich, Anna-Bettina; Kiritsi, Maria; Vayionas, Malamatenia Arvanitidou

2011-01-01

Objectives: In Greece, there is limited research on issues related to organ donation. We aimed to study the attitudes, knowledge, and actions of local medical students regard to organ donation and transplantations of tissues and organs in Greece. Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire based survey was done in Laboratory of Hygiene and Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece on medical students in years 1 to 6. In a sample of 600 medical students, a special anonymous questionnaire, which included data as sex, age, and semester of studies, as well as questions regarding certain aspects of transplantation, was distributed. 558 valid questionnaires were completed (men 52.3% and women 47.7%). Results: The vast majority of the sample (93.6%) were in favor of transplantations whereas 32 (5.7%) of the students claimed to be organ donors. 78.9% claimed ignorance of the existing legislation concerning transplantations and organ donation in our country. 81.2% believed that the voting of law, which would consider all Greek organ donors after death will cause strong reactions. As the main causes, responsible for the shortage of transplants in our country were stated to be the inadequate public information, Greek mentality, and the lack of organized transplant centers. Public information through Media, a lifelong free health check-up for organ donors and activation of voluntary organizations that promote organ donation were proposed as the most important actions that could increase organ donation and transplantations in Greece. Conclusions: The need for further informative actions stressing the importance of organ donations appears to be the only way to increase transplantations in our country and towards this direction medical students could also be activated. A new medical curriculum should increase medical students′ awareness of the organ shortage problem. Public education is recommended to correct misconceptions. PMID:21811659

The impact of economic austerity and prosperity events on suicide in Greece: a 30-year interrupted time-series analysis.

PubMed

Branas, Charles C; Kastanaki, Anastasia E; Michalodimitrakis, Manolis; Tzougas, John; Kranioti, Elena F; Theodorakis, Pavlos N; Carr, Brendan G; Wiebe, Douglas J

2015-02-02

To complete a 30-year interrupted time-series analysis of the impact of austerity-related and prosperity-related events on the occurrence of suicide across Greece. Greece from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 2012. A total of 11 505 suicides, 9079 by men and 2426 by women, occurring in Greece over the study period. National data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority assembled as 360 monthly counts of: all suicides, male suicides, female suicides and all suicides plus potentially misclassified suicides. In 30 years, the highest months of suicide in Greece occurred in 2012. The passage of new austerity measures in June 2011 marked the beginning of significant, abrupt and sustained increases in total suicides (+35.7%, p<0.001) and male suicides (+18.5%, p<0.01). Sensitivity analyses that figured in undercounting of suicides also found a significant, abrupt and sustained increase in June 2011 (+20.5%, p<0.001). Suicides by men in Greece also underwent a significant, abrupt and sustained increase in October 2008 when the Greek recession began (+13.1%, p<0.01), and an abrupt but temporary increase in April 2012 following a public suicide committed in response to austerity conditions (+29.7%, p<0.05). Suicides by women in Greece also underwent an abrupt and sustained increase in May 2011 following austerity-related events (+35.8%, p<0.05). One prosperity-related event, the January 2002 launch of the Euro in Greece, marked an abrupt but temporary decrease in male suicides (-27.1%, p<0.05). This is the first multidecade, national analysis of suicide in Greece using monthly data. Select austerity-related events in Greece corresponded to statistically significant increases for suicides overall, as well as for suicides among men and women. The consideration of future austerity measures should give greater weight to the unintended mental health consequences that may follow and the public messaging of these policies and related events. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group

A Review of the Library and Information Services In Greece: Current Developments that Shape LIS Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garoufallou, Emmanouel; Siatri, Rania; Hartley, R. J.

2008-01-01

This paper sets the context for this special issue on LIS education in Greece by explaining the Greek higher education system both in organisational terms and in the approaches to teaching and learning. In addition it briefly outlines the current state of development in libraries in Greece. Taken together they provide the background to the…

Cancer nurses' perceptions of ethical climate in Greece and Cyprus.

PubMed

Constantina, Cloconi; Papastavrou, Evridiki; Charalambous, Andreas

2018-01-01

In recent years, the interest in ethical climate has increased in the literature. However, there is limited understanding of the phenomenon within the cancer care context as well as between countries. To evaluate cancer nurses' perceptions of hospital ethical climate in Greece and Cyprus. This was a quantitative descriptive-correlational comparative study with cancer nurses. Data were collected with the Greek version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey questionnaire in addition to demographic data. Participants and research context: In total, n = 235 cancer nurses working in cancer care settings in Greece and Cyprus were recruited at two national oncology nursing conferences. Ethical considerations: The study conforms to the principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and the relevant ethical approvals were obtained according to national law. The results showed that in terms of the "Managers" dimension, participants working in Greek hospitals (4.30 ± 0.73) had a higher score compared to the Cyprus participants (3.66 ± 0.93) (t = -5.777, p ≤ 0.001). The perceptions of nurses working in oncology units in Greece regarding the ethical climate were more positive compared to Cyprus (M = 3.67 for Greece and M = 3.53 for Cyprus, p ≤ 0.001). Nurses with a higher level of education had a lower average ethical climate score across all dimensions. All dimensions exhibit positive and moderate to high correlations between them (r = 0.414-0.728, p < 0.01). It is imperative to evaluate and improve the hospital ethical climate that prevails in each cancer care department. This highlights the fact that nurses working in seemingly similar cultural and organizational contexts might still have different perceptions of the ethical climate. Despite these differences, it is necessary to create the right conditions to address ethical issues. A positive ethical climate requires good relationships between healthcare professionals and the presence of good

Detection of West Nile Virus - Lineage 2 in Culex pipiens mosquitoes, associated with disease outbreak in Greece, 2017.

PubMed

Mavridis, Konstantinos; Fotakis, Emmanouil A; Kioulos, Ilias; Mpellou, Spiridoula; Konstantas, Spiros; Varela, Evangelia; Gewehr, Sandra; Diamantopoulos, Vasilis; Vontas, John

2018-06-01

During July-October 2017 a WNV outbreak took place in the Peloponnese, Southern Greece with five confirmed deaths. During routine monitoring survey in the Peloponnese, supported by the local Prefecture, we have confirmed the presence of all three Culex pipiens biotypes in the region, with a high percentage of Culex pipiens/molestus hybrids (37.0%) which are considered a highly competent vector of WNV. Kdr mutations related to pyrethroid resistance were found at relatively low levels (14.3% homozygosity) while no mosquitoes harboring the recently identified chitin synthase diflubenzuron-resistance mutations were detected in the region. As an immediate action, following the disease outbreak (within days), we collected a large number of mosquitoes using CO 2 CDC traps from the villages in the Argolis area of the Peloponnese, where high incidence of WNV human infections were reported. WNV lineage 2 was detected in 3 out of 47 Cx. pipiens mosquito pools (detection rate = 6.38%). The virus was not detected in any other mosquito species, such as Aedes albopictus, sampled from the region at the time of the disease outbreak. Our results show that detection of WNV lineage 2 in Cx. pipiens pools is spatially and chronologically associated with human clinical cases, thus implicating Cx. pipiens mosquitoes as the most likely WNV vector. The absence of diflubenzuron resistance mutations and the low frequency of pyrethroid (kdr) resistance mutations indicates the suitability of these insecticides for Cx. pipiens control, in the format of larvicides and/or residual spraying applications respectively, which was indeed the main (evidence based) response, following the disease outbreak. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An analysis of photovoltaic irrigation system for olive orchards in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taousanidis, N.; Gavros, K.

2016-11-01

Olive tree cultivation is of major importance in Greece. It has been proved that irrigation of olive orchards increases their production. The classic method followed is diesel pump irrigation. Since Greece favours high insolation the alternative of photovoltaic pumping is proposed. A case study for an olive orchard in Crete is studied with the two alternatives. The photovoltaic pumping system is a direct pumping system as olive trees tolerate even deficit irrigation and storage tank increases the cost. A comparison using the Life Cycle Costing method is proposed. Considerations about climate and economic conditions are taken into account and the study concludes with the profound advantage of the renewable system over the conventional one in strict economic terms.

Evaluating Renewable Groundwater Stress with GRACE Data in Greece.

PubMed

Gemitzi, Alexandra; Lakshmi, Venkat

2018-05-01

Groundwater is a resilient water source and its importance is even greater in periods of drought. Areas such as the Mediterranean where adverse climate change effects are expected are bell-weather locations for groundwater depletion and are of considerable interest. The present study evaluates renewable groundwater stress (RGS) as the ratio of groundwater use to groundwater availability, quantifying use as the trend in gravity recovery and climate experiment-derived (GRACE) subsurface anomalies (ΔGW trend ) and renewable groundwater availability as mean annual recharge. Estimates for mean annual recharge for the various regions in Greece have been derived using numerical models. Our results highlight two RGS regimes in Greece (variable stress and unstressed) of the four characteristic stress regimes, that is, overstressed, variable stress, human-dominated stress, and unstressed, defined as a function of the sign of use and the sign of groundwater availability (positive or negative). Variable stress areas are found in Central Greece (Thessaly region), where intensive agriculture results in negative ΔGW trend values combined with positive mean annual recharge rates. RGS values range from -0.05 to 0, indicating a low impact area. Within this region, adverse effects of groundwater overexploitation are already evident based on the negative GRACE anomalies; however, recharge is still positive, mitigating the effects of over-pumping. The rest of Greek aquifers fall within the unstressed category, with RGS values from 0.02 to 0.05, indicating that the rate of use is less than the natural recharge rate. © 2017, National Ground Water Association.

Adolescence and abortion in Greece: women's profile and perceptions.

PubMed

Mavroforou, Anna; Koumantakis, Evgenios; Michalodimitrakis, Emmanuel

2004-10-01

To investigate the individual and social profile of the adolescents seeking abortion in Greece. Questionnaires were distributed from the obstetricians practicing in the capital and two major cities in Greece to adolescent pregnant women who were seeking for abortion and collected anonymously. From 150 consecutive pregnant adolescents, 38 refused to participate and from 112 who accepted to participate only 74 (66%) replied. Most of the respondents lived in a city (65%), were unmarried (73%), 62% had sex first time after the age of 15, and the educational status of their parents was rarely at higher degree (father: 20%, mother: 16%). Among them, 74% declared that they had received information on contraception (64% from friends, 47% from doctors, 36% from the media). Overall, withdrawal (49%) and male condom (28.5%) were the popular contraceptive precautions. Abortion was adolescents' decision in 65%, while the partner's influence in the case of a shared decision was as high as 73%. Most adolescents (91%) knew about the potential risks of abortion mainly by their doctor (87%) and socio-economical reasons (89%) were mostly claimed. Their parents were rarely aware about their pregnancy (28%) and decision for abortion (28%). In most cases it was the first abortion (78%) and adolescents declared that were aware about the Greek Church's opposition (89%) and the existence of an abortion law (86%). In Greece, the poor education on the issue of contraception still remains a major problem among teenagers contributing to the increased prevalence of undesired pregnancies and abortions.

Factors that motivate and hinder blood donation in Greece

PubMed Central

Marantidou, O; Loukopoulou, L; Zervou, E; Martinis, G; Egglezou, A; Fountouli, P; Dimoxenous, P; Parara, M; Gavalaki, M; Maniatis, A

2007-01-01

Donations in Greece are insufficient to cover the high transfusion needs arising from large numbers of thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia patients and the implementation of new surgical techniques. Efforts to achieve self-sufficiency, and to render blood supplies safer and manageable must focus on recruiting and retaining more volunteer donors and on converting the large pool of replacement donors. The aim of the study was to gain insight into public perception regarding the risks of donation and transfusion and to identify the factors that would motivate more people in Greece to regularly donate blood. Questionnaires were distributed to 1600 donors at the blood bank and visitors to hospitals at 11 locations across the country. Data on demographics, donation behaviour, incentives, risk perception and attitudes towards donation and transfusion were analysed separately for volunteer and replacement donors and non-donors. The results showed that women and young people donate the least in Greece. Also, many donors do not donate because they are not reminded to. A small percentage of donors confessed to having concealed part of the truth to background questions. Overall, incentives to donate were considered important and included future availability of blood for self or family, paid leave from work and free blood tests. Recruitment and retention efforts should include better communication with current donors, and raising awareness among eligible donors. Staff should be educated in soliciting information from potential donors, and incentives should be better aligned to avoid conflict with ethical values and ensure honesty in the prescreening process. PMID:18067648

Gravity and isostatic anomaly maps of Greece produced

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagios, E.; Chailas, S.; Hipkin, R. G.

A gravity anomaly map of Greece was first compiled in the early 1970s [Makris and Stavrou, 1984] from all available gravity data collected by different Hellenic institutions. However, to compose this map the data had to be smoothed to the point that many of the smaller-wavelength gravity anomalies were lost. New work begun in 1987 has resulted in the publication of an updated map [Lagios et al., 1994] and an isostatic anomaly map derived from it.The gravity data cover the area between east longitudes 19° and 27° and north latitudes 32° and 42°, organized in files of 100-km squares and grouped in 10-km squares using UTM zone 34 coordinates. Most of the data on land come from the gravity observations of Makris and Stavrou [1984] with additional data from the Institute of Geology and Mining Exploration, the Public Oil Corporation of Greece, and Athens University. These data were checked using techniques similar to those used in compiling the gravity anomaly map of the United States, but the horizontal gradient was used as a check rather than the gravity difference. Marine data were digitized from the maps of Morelli et al. [1975a, 1975b]. All gravity anomaly values are referred to the IGSN-71 system, reduced with the standard Bouger density of 2.67 Mg/m3. We estimate the errors of the anomalies in the continental part of Greece to be ±0.9 mGal; this is expected to be smaller over fairly flat regions. For stations whose height has been determined by leveling, the error is only ±0.3 mGal. For the marine areas, the errors are about ±5 mGal [Morelli, 1990].

Inmates' Adult Education in Greece--A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papaioannou, Vasiliki; Anagnou, Evaggelos; Vergidis, Dimitris

2016-01-01

Correctional education in Greece has been implemented since 1980's. Second Chance Schools (SCS) in prisons were established in 2004, aiming at combating social exclusion. This study's aim is to look into the reasons of school dropout and to interpret why inmates take part in the educational program provided by SCS, registering the motives,…

Notions of "Rhetoric as Epistemic" in Ancient Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benoit, William L.

The notion that rhetoric (and to a lesser extent, argument) is epistemic is an increasingly popular one today, although it can be traced to ancient Greece. The notion holds that rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, creates and shapes knowledge. Two ancient authors--Aristophanes and Plato--provide evidence that others had notions of rhetoric as…

Knowledge about schizophrenia and attitudes towards people with schizophrenia in Greece.

PubMed

Economou, Marina; Richardson, Clive; Gramandani, Christina; Stalikas, Anastassios; Stefanis, Costas

2009-07-01

This study was the first national survey ever conducted in Greece aiming to monitor the level of stigma Greeks hold against people with schizophrenia (PWS). To investigate sources, degree of knowledge and attitudes towards PWS in Greece. A cross-sectional nationwide survey was conducted by face-to-face household interviews ( n = 1,199, aged 15 years and over). Television was the main source of information (65.9%). Negative portrayals of PWS were recalled by 60.5%. Only 27.7% attributed schizophrenia to a combination of psychosocial, genetic and environmental factors. Respondents believed that PWS are dangerous (74.6%), have split personalities (81.3%) and cannot work (83.2%). Regarding attitudes, a negative relationship between closeness and social distance was observed. Most respondents (92.1%) would not marry someone with schizophrenia, half (50.5%) would be disturbed by working with PWS and one third (32.9%) would feel afraid to start a conversation. Urban residence and higher education were generally associated with better knowledge and more positive attitudes towards PWS. Knowledge about schizophrenia in Greece is poor. The Greek public has stigmatizing attitudes towards PWS. Educational interventions should especially target rural and semi-urban residents of a lower educational level. The role of television can be crucial.

Payments and quality of care in private for-profit and public hospitals in Greece

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Empirical evidence on how ownership type affects the quality and cost of medical care is growing, and debate on these topics is ongoing. Despite the fact that the private sector is a major provider of hospital services in Greece, little comparative information on private versus public sector hospitals is available. The aim of the present study was to describe and compare the operation and performance of private for-profit (PFP) and public hospitals in Greece, focusing on differences in nurse staffing rates, average lengths of stay (ALoS), and Social Health Insurance (SHI) payments for hospital care per patient discharged. Methods Five different datasets were prepared and analyzed, two of which were derived from information provided by the National Statistical Service (NSS) of Greece and the other three from data held by the three largest SHI schemes in the country. All data referred to the 3-year period from 2001 to 2003. Results PFP hospitals in Greece are smaller than public hospitals, with lower patient occupancy, and have lower staffing rates of all types of nurses and highly qualified nurses compared with public hospitals. Calculation of ALoS using NSS data yielded mixed results, whereas calculations of ALoS and SHI payments using SHI data gave results clearly favoring the public hospital sector in terms of cost-efficiency; in all years examined, over all specialties and all SHI schemes included in our study, unweighted ALoS and SHI payments for hospital care per discharge were higher for PFP facilities. Conclusions In a mixed healthcare system, such as that in Greece, significant performance differences were observed between PFP and public hospitals. Close monitoring of healthcare provision by hospital ownership type will be essential to permit evidence-based decisions on the future of the public/private mix in terms of healthcare provision. PMID:21943020

Payments and quality of care in private for-profit and public hospitals in Greece.

PubMed

Kondilis, Elias; Gavana, Magda; Giannakopoulos, Stathis; Smyrnakis, Emmanouil; Dombros, Nikolaos; Benos, Alexis

2011-09-23

Empirical evidence on how ownership type affects the quality and cost of medical care is growing, and debate on these topics is ongoing. Despite the fact that the private sector is a major provider of hospital services in Greece, little comparative information on private versus public sector hospitals is available. The aim of the present study was to describe and compare the operation and performance of private for-profit (PFP) and public hospitals in Greece, focusing on differences in nurse staffing rates, average lengths of stay (ALoS), and Social Health Insurance (SHI) payments for hospital care per patient discharged. Five different datasets were prepared and analyzed, two of which were derived from information provided by the National Statistical Service (NSS) of Greece and the other three from data held by the three largest SHI schemes in the country. All data referred to the 3-year period from 2001 to 2003. PFP hospitals in Greece are smaller than public hospitals, with lower patient occupancy, and have lower staffing rates of all types of nurses and highly qualified nurses compared with public hospitals. Calculation of ALoS using NSS data yielded mixed results, whereas calculations of ALoS and SHI payments using SHI data gave results clearly favoring the public hospital sector in terms of cost-efficiency; in all years examined, over all specialties and all SHI schemes included in our study, unweighted ALoS and SHI payments for hospital care per discharge were higher for PFP facilities. In a mixed healthcare system, such as that in Greece, significant performance differences were observed between PFP and public hospitals. Close monitoring of healthcare provision by hospital ownership type will be essential to permit evidence-based decisions on the future of the public/private mix in terms of healthcare provision.

Cloud-to-ground lightning activity over Greece: Spatio-temporal analysis and impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsangouras, I. T.; Nastos, P. T.; Kapsomenakis, J.

2016-03-01

Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning activity recorded by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS) Precision Lightning Network (PLN) is analysed over the wider area of Greece. In addition, the spatial and temporal relationships between TRMM 3B42 (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) datasets and lightning are presented. The analyses concern the period from January 14, 2008 to December 31, 2012. The Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment, University of Athens, has established a detailed dataset of lightning impacts over Greece from 1895 to 2013, based on digitized archive editions of newspapers. The mean seasonal variability of CG lightning activity revealed autumn as the most dominant season with 303 LD, while the mean monthly variability of CG indicated October as the most lightning active month and May as the month with a mean of 27 LD. The mean annual spatial distribution of CG lightning per km2, depicted the maximum frequency over Pindus mountain range (> 7 CG/km2). During the autumn season, the northern Ionian Sea experienced a mean frequency of more than 5 CG/km2, compared to the southern Ionian Sea and NW Peloponnesus, where values of more than 7 CG/km2 are depicted. During the summer season, the maximum frequency appeared along Pindus mountain range, around Attica, Thessaly and central Macedonia highlands. The spatial distribution of seasonal correlations between the number of CG flashes/day and gridded (TRMM 3B42) daily rainfall totals for the period 2008-2012 over Greece, indicated that correlations were mainly positive all over the under study area, within all seasons, and especially during summer and autumn. Regarding the lightning impacts in Greece, based on the 1895-2013 study period, more than 343 fatalities and at least 224 injured people have been recorded. The spatial analysis of lightning impacts, showed that the majority of events has been recorded over Greek mainland and only few scattered events have been reported over

Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1895) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Greece: 13 years of living with the Asian tiger mosquito.

PubMed

Badieritakis, Ε; Papachristos, D; Latinopoulos, D; Stefopoulou, Α; Kolimenakis, Α; Bithas, K; Patsoula, Ε; Beleri, S; Maselou, D; Balatsos, G; Michaelakis, Α

2018-02-01

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse, 1895) (Diptera: Culicidae), commonly known as the Asian tiger mosquito, is an invasive mosquito species of public health significance, well established in many countries worldwide. In Greece, it was first recorded in Corfu and Thesprotia between 2003 and 2004. In the following years, further distribution and establishment of Ae. albopictus in Greece have been confirmed in many Regional Units of the country. In the current study, we report the invasion history of Ae. albopictus in Greece, until 2016. The results from the entomological investigation following imported virus cases in 2014, 2015, and 2016 are also included. Moreover, its presence in Greece is demonstrated in a thematic map based on (a) information provided by pest control companies and/or citizens, (b) the official samples sent to Benaki Phytopathological Institute (BPI) and the National School of Public Health (NSPH), and (c) the entomological surveillance conducted by the BPI.

The History of Teaching Quantum Mechanics in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tampakis, Constantin; Skordoulis, Constantin

2007-01-01

In this work, our goal is to examine the attitude of the Greek scientific community towards Quantum Mechanics and establish the history of teaching of this theory in Greece. We have examined Physics textbooks written by professors of the University of Athens, as well as records of public speeches, university yearbooks from 1923 to 1970, articles…

Lessons from Greece: A Body, Mind, Spirit Odyssey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyman, Linda L.

2006-01-01

In Spring Semester 2005, the author was a visiting Fulbright professor at Aristotle University in Greece. The purpose of the Fulbright Program is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of the 150 or so countries that currently participate in the Fulbright Program. In this article, the author looks…

Greek Goat Encephalitis Virus Strain Isolated from Ixodes ricinus, Greece

PubMed Central

Pavlidou, Vasiliki; Antoniadis, Antonis

2008-01-01

A strain of Greek goat encephaltitis virus was isolated from engorged Ixodes ricinus ticks that had fed on goats in northern Greece. The strain was almost identical to the prototype strain isolated 35 years ago. PMID:18258134

Assessment of Parkinson’s disease risk loci in Greece

PubMed Central

Kara, Eleanna; Xiromerisiou, Georgia; Spanaki, Cleanthe; Bozi, Maria; Koutsis, Georgios; Panas, Marios; Dardiotis, Efthimios; Ralli, Styliani; Bras, Jose; Letson, Christopher; Edsall, Connor; Pliner, Hannah; Arepali, Sampath; Kalinderi, Kallirhoe; Fidani, Liana; Bostanjopoulou, Sevasti; Keller, Margaux F; Wood, Nicholas W; Hardy, John; Houlden, Henry; Stefanis, Leonidas; Plaitakis, Andreas; Hernandez, Dena; Hadjigeorgiou, Georgios M; Nalls, Mike A; Singleton, Andrew B

2013-01-01

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have been shown to be a powerful approach to identify risk loci for neurodegenerative diseases. Recent GWAS in Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been successful in identifying numerous risk variants pointing to novel pathways potentially implicated in the pathogenesis of PD. Contributing to these GWAS efforts, we performed genotyping of previously identified risk alleles in PD patients and controls from Greece. We showed that previously published risk profiles for Northern European and American populations are also applicable to the Greek population. In addition, while we were largely underpowered to detect individual associations we replicated 5 of 32 previously published risk variants with nominal p-values <0.05. Genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA) revealed that known risk loci explain disease risk in 1.27% of Greek PD patients. Collectively, these results indicate that there is likely a substantial genetic component to PD in Greece similarly to other worldwide populations that remains to be discovered. PMID:24080174

The Epidemic History of HIV-1 CRF07_BC in Hetian Prefecture and the Role of It on HIV Spreading in China.

PubMed

Wu, Jianjun; Guo, Hongxiong; Zhang, Jing; Liu, Xiaoming; Ayoupu, Aideaierli; Shen, Yuelan; Miao, Lifeng; Tang, Jihai; Lei, Yanhua; Su, Bin

2017-04-01

CRF07_BC is one of the most prevalent HIV-1 strains in China, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has ever been considered to be a second epidemic center after Yunnan Province in previous studies. Here we use HIV-1 pol gene sequences identified from Hetian Prefecture located in Xinjiang Autonomous Region to reconstruct the epidemic history of HIV CRF07_BC strain circulating in this region. We found that CRF07_BC is the predominant HIV-1 form in Hetian Prefecture, and the estimated tMRCA analysis shows that there is no enough evidence supporting Xinjiang Autonomous Region as a second epidemic center of spreading HIV-1. It may imply that every city may be only a point among the HIV spreading network because of the frequent migration of population in the whole country nowadays.

Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Regional Obstetrical Care in Miyagi Prefecture.

PubMed

Sugawara, Junichi; Hoshiai, Tetsuro; Sato, Kazuyo; Tokunaga, Hideki; Nishigori, Hidekazu; Arai, Takanari; Okamura, Kunihiro; Yaegashi, Nobuo

2016-06-01

The authors report the results of surveys on the emergency transport or evacuation status of obstetric patients conducted in Miyagi prefecture, one of the major disaster areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The surveys examined the damages to maternity institutions, evacuation status and transport of pregnant women, and prehospital childbirths and were conducted in 50 maternity institutions and 12 fire departments in Miyagi. Two coastal institutions were destroyed completely, and four institutions were destroyed partially by the tsunami, forcing them to stop medical services. In the two-month period after the disaster, 217 pregnant women received hospital transport or gave birth after evacuation. Satisfactory perinatal outcomes were maintained. Emergency obstetric transport increased to approximately 1.4 fold the number before the disaster. Twenty-three women had prehospital childbirths, indicating a marked increase to approximately three times the number of the previous year. In the acute phase of the tsunami disaster, maternity institutions were damaged severely and perinatal transport was not possible; as a result, pregnant women inevitably gave birth in unplanned institutions, and the number of prehospital births was increased extremely. To obtain satisfactory obstetric outcomes, it is necessary to construct a future disaster management system and to re-recognize pregnant women as people with special needs in disaster situations. Sugawara J , Hoshiai T , Sato K , Tokunaga H , Nishigori H , Arai T , Okamura K , Yaegashi N . Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on regional obstetrical care in Miyagi Prefecture. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(3):255- 258.

Anciet marble quarries in Lesvos island Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mataragkas, M.; Mataragkas, D.

2009-04-01

ANCIENT MARBLE QUARRIES IN LESBOS ISLAND, GREECE Varti- Matarangas M.1 & Matarangas D. 1 Institute of Geological and Mining Exploration (IGME), Olympic Village, Entrance C, ACHARNAE 13677, GREECE myrsini@igme.gr , myrsini@otenet.g r A B S T R A C T Ten ancient marble quarries of Lesbos Island, most of them previously unknown, have been studied, in the frame of the research study on the ancient marble quarries in the Aegean Sea. In the present paper the geological, petrological and morphological features of the aforementioned quarries are examined. Concerning the six ancient quarries located in the areas of Tarti, Agia Paraskevi (Tsaf), Mageiras, Loutra, Latomi (Plomari) and Thermi, the authochthonous neopaleozoic unit constitutes their geological formation, while their hosting lithological formations are the included crystalline limestone lens like beds. In two ancient quarries in the areas Moria and Alyfanta, the geological formation is the authochthonous upper Triassic series and the hosting lithological formation the upper Triassic carbonate sequence, while in the areas of Akrasi-Abeliko and Karyni, the geological formation is the thrust Triassic unit and the lithological hosting formations are the included strongly deformed or not crystalline limestone lenticular beds. Furthermore, the petrographic features were also determined permitting the identification of the building stones that have been used.

First evidence of Leishmania infection in European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) in Greece: GIS analysis and phylogenetic position within the Leishmania spp.

PubMed

Tsokana, C N; Sokos, C; Giannakopoulos, A; Mamuris, Z; Birtsas, P; Papaspyropoulos, K; Valiakos, G; Spyrou, V; Lefkaditis, M; Chatzopoulos, D C; Kantere, M; Manolakou, K; Touloudi, A; Burriel, A Rodi; Ferroglio, E; Hadjichristodoulou, C; Billinis, C

2016-01-01

Although the existence of a sylvatic transmission cycle of Leishmania spp., independent from the domestic cycle, has been proposed, data are scarce on Leishmania infection in wild mammals in Greece. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of Leishmania infection in the European brown hare in Greece, to infer the phylogenetic position of the Leishmania parasites detected in hares in Greece, and to identify any possible correlation between Leishmania infection in hares with environmental parameters, using the geographical information system (GIS). Spleen samples from 166 hares were tested by internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1)-nested PCR for the detection of Leishmania DNA. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on Leishmania sequences from hares in Greece in conjunction with Leishmania sequences from dogs in Greece and 46 Leishmania sequences retrieved from GenBank. The Leishmania DNA prevalence in hares was found to be 23.49 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) 17.27-30.69). The phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the Leishmania sequences from hares in Greece belong in the Leishmania donovani complex. The widespread Leishmania infection in hares should be taken into consideration because under specific circumstances, this species can act as a reservoir host. This study suggests that the role of wild animals, including hares, in the epidemiology of Leishmania spp. in Greece deserves further elucidation.

Analysis of HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Liangshan Prefecture, China, from 2009 to 2015.

PubMed

Yang, Shujuan; Yang, Chao; Liao, Qiang; Zhai, Wenwen; Yu, Gang; Xiao, Lin; Wang, Qixing; Gong, Yuhan; Zhang, Suhua; Yao, Yongna; Wang, Ke; Wang, Ju; Bian, Shaochao; Liu, Qian

2017-01-01

Yi people make up about 50% of the population in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China, but accounted for 88.07% of new HIV cases in the prefecture from 2011 to 2013. This study evaluated HIV prevalence in pregnant women of Liangshan Prefecture using HIV sentinel surveillance (HSS) data over the period of 2009 to 2015. Xichang, Zhaojue County, and Butuo County were selected as HSS sites. We investigated the temporal trends in HIV prevalence in these areas, and the association between demographic and behavioral characteristics and risk of HIV infection. Data on a total of 2797 pregnant women in Xichang and 3983 pregnant women in Zhaojue and Butuo was collected for the period 2009 to 2015. There was a fluctuating HIV prevalence among pregnant women of Xichang, with a rate of 0.75% in 2015 (χ2trend = 2.27, P = 0.13). HIV prevalence among pregnant women of Zhaojue and Butuo was consistently high, varying between 3.4% (9/267, 2011) and 10.3% (82/796, 2012) over the period of 2010 to 2015 (χ2trend = 0.12, P = 0.73). In Xichang, we found that Yi ethnicity (OR = 11.37, 95% CI = 2.92-44.25) and a husband who used drugs (OR = 32.13, 95% CI = 5.33-193.67) were significantly associated with HIV risk in pregnant women. For Zhaojue and Butuo, we observed that pregnant women had a higher risk of HIV infection when they were over 30 years old (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.17-2.52), when they had a higher number of previous births, when their husbands had a history of migrating for work (OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.16-2.08), and when they had a history of other sexually transmitted infections (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.16-2.08). Compared to those with a primary school education or below, pregnant women with a secondary or high school education level had a lower risk of HIV infection (OR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.09-0.89). Our results indicate that there is a serious HIV epidemic among pregnant Yi women, especially for those with less education, more past births, or a husband with a history of

[The number of deaths by suicide after the Great East Japan Earthquake based on demographic statistics in the coastal and non-coastal areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures].

PubMed

Masaki, Naoko; Hashimoto, Shuji; Kawado, Miyuki; Ojima, Toshiyuki; Takeshima, Tadashi; Matsubara, Miyuki; Mitoku, Kazuko; Ogata, Yukiko

2018-01-01

Objective　The number of deaths by suicide after the Great East Japan Earthquake was surveyed based on demographic statistics. In particular, this study examined whether or not there were excessive deaths due to suicide (excluding people who were injured in the earthquake) after the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster. This examination surveyed municipalities in coastal and non-coastal areas of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures (referred to below as the "three prefectures").Methods　The demographic statistics questionnaire survey information supplied by Article 33 of the Statistics Act (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's published statistics Vol. 0925 No.4, September 25 th , 2014) were used as the basic data with particular reference to the information on the deaths from January 1 st , 2010 to March 31 st , 2013. The information obtained included the date of death, the municipality where the address of the deceased was registered, the gender of the deceased, age at the time of death, and cause of death codes (International Classification of Disease Codes 10 th revision: ICD-10). Additionally, information was gathered about the population based on the resident register from 2009 to 2013 and the 2010 National Census; the number of deaths by suicide was then totalled by period and area. The areas were classified as municipalities within three prefectures and those located elsewhere using the municipality where the address of the deceased was registered.Results　The SMR for suicides did not show a tendency to increase for coastal or non-coastal areas throughout the two-year period after the earthquake disaster (from March 2011 to February 2013).　The SMR for the three prefectures 0-1 years after the disaster compared with the year before the disaster was 0.92 and for 1-2 years after the disaster was 0.93. Both these values were significantly low. Looking at both the non-coastal and coastal areas from each of the three prefectures, the SMR for suicides

Incidence of pests and viral disease on pepino (Solanum muricatum Ait.) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Kim, Ok-Kyung; Ishikawa, Tadashi; Yamada, Yoshihiro; Sato, Takuma; Shinohara, Hirosuke; Takahata, Ken

2017-01-01

The solanaceous fruit crop pepino ( Solanum muricatum Ait.), originating in the Andes, is grown commercially in South American countries and New Zealand. In these areas, pests and diseases of pepino have been identified well; however, to date, these have seldom been investigated in detail in Japan. Herein, we attempt to reconstruct an agricultural production system for commercial pepino crops in Japan, and evaluate the incidence of pests and viral diseases on pepino. The findings of this study will facilitate in developing a better crop system for the commercial cultivation of healthy pepino fruits. A total of 11 species, comprising nine insects and two mites, were recognized as pests of pepino plants in our experimental fields in Kanagawa Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. Of these pest species, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 and the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877, were remarkably abundant than the other pest species. Eventually, 13 species, including two previously recorded, are currently recognized as the pests of pepino in Japan. With regard to viruses, we tested two species Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), as well as three genera Carlavirus , Potexvirus , and Potyvirus . No virus was detected in symptomatic pepino leaves collected in our experimental fields. This is a first report on the identification of pests on pepino plants in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan and elucidates the relationship between currently occurring pests of pepino plants and potential viral pathogens that they can transmit.

Estimate of the Potential Amount of Low-Level Waste from the Fukushima Prefecture - 12370

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hill, Carolyn; Olson, Eric A.J.; Elmer, John

2012-07-01

The amount of waste generated by the cleanup of the Fukushima Prefecture (Fukushima-ken) following the releases from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident (March 2011) is dependent on many factors, including: - Contamination amounts; - Cleanup levels determined for the radioisotopes contaminating the area; - Future land use expectations and human exposure scenarios; - Groundwater contamination considerations; - Costs and availability of storage areas, and eventually disposal areas for the waste; and - Decontamination and volume reduction techniques and technologies used. For the purposes of estimating these waste volumes, Fukushima-ken is segregated into zones of similar contamination level andmore » expected future use. Techniques for selecting the appropriate cleanup methods for each area are shown in a decision tree format. This approach is broadly applied to the 20 km evacuation zone and the total amounts and types of waste are estimated; waste resulting from cleanup efforts outside of the evacuation zone is not considered. Some of the limits of future use and potential zones where residents must be excluded within the prefecture are also described. The size and design of the proposed intermediate storage facility is also discussed and the current situation, cleanup, waste handling, and waste storage issues in Japan are described. The method for estimating waste amounts outlined above illustrates the large amount of waste that could potentially be generated by remediation of the 20 km evacuation zone (619 km{sup 2} total) if the currently proposed cleanup goals are uniformly applied. The Japanese environment ministry estimated in early October that the 1 mSv/year exposure goal would make the government responsible for decontaminating about 8,000 km{sup 2} within Fukushima-ken and roughly 4,900 km{sup 2} in areas outside the prefecture. The described waste volume estimation method also does not give any consideration to areas with localized hot

Descriptive epidemiology of chronic hepatitis B by using data from a hepatitis registry in Central Greece.

PubMed

Stefos, Aggelos; Gatselis, Nikolaos; Zachou, Kalliopi; Rigopoulou, Eirini; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Dalekos, George N

2009-01-01

In Greece, there are few data on the epidemiological characteristics of HBV. Our aim was to study the epidemiological patterns of HBV in Central Greece and identify the possible differences in HBV prevalence (clusters) among areas inside this region using data from the hepatitis registry. The study was performed in Thessaly, one out of the thirteen regions of Greece and covers most of the part of Central Greece. A total of 921 HBV patients were registered in the hepatitis registry during the period 1999-2004 while 303 were randomly selected to be studied further using a detailed questionnaire on several epidemiological factors. 187/303 patients (61.7%) classified as chronic inactive HBV carriers, 78/303 (25.7%) had chronic hepatitis B, 29/303 (9.6%) had HBV-related cirrhosis and 9/303 (3%) HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The route of HBV transmission was vertical in 103 (34%), sexual in 46 (15.1%) and intrafamilial in 98 (32.4%). Folk remedies were identified as the predisposing risk factor for contracting HBV infection in 38 (12.5%), previous transfusion in 9 (3%) and unknown mode of transmission in 9 patients (3%). Alcohol abuse was the only independent factor (OR: 2.5; p=0.01) associated with the progression to cirrhosis-HCC. There were specific areas (clusters) inside Thessaly region with increased ratio of HBV infection; Vertical and sexual modes of transmission were more prominent in some of these areas. Vertical, intrafamilial and sexual modes of HBV transmission identified as the major routes of HBV infection in our study. We also identified cluster areas of HBV infection in Central Greece. Alcohol abuse is frequent among HBV patients and is acting as an effect modificator risk factor for the development of HBV-related cirrhosis and HCC. Extended population studies in Greece are needed to assess in detail the epidemiological patterns of HBV and evaluate control programmes.

Distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria in treated patients with pulmonary disease in Greece - relation to microbiological data.

PubMed

Manika, Katerina; Tsikrika, Stamatoula; Tsaroucha, Emilia; Karabela, Simona; Karachaliou, Iris; Bosmi, Ioulia; Kioumis, Ioannis; Papavasileiou, Apostolos

2015-01-01

The aim was to assess the distribution of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in treated patients with pulmonary disease (PD) in Greece. Patients treated for NTM PD at the two largest chest diseases hospitals in Greece, in the period 1990-2013 were investigated. For the years 2005-2013 data on NTM isolation frequency were recorded. M. avium complex (MAC) was the predominant cause of NTM PD disease followed by M. kansasii and rapid growing mycobacteria (RGM). The pathogenicity of RGM was significantly lower than this of MAC and M. kansasii. An increase was observed in the percentage of isolated NTM species that were considered clinically significant over the study period. The increasing number of NTM PD in Greece is a consequence of their isolation being more frequently considered as clinically relevant.

[Variation characteristics of farmland soil pH in the past 30 years of Enshi Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei, China].

PubMed

Hu, Min; Xiang, Yong Sheng; Zhang, Zhi; Cong, Ri Huan; Huang, Fei Yue; Zhang, Jun Qiang; Shang, Li Li; Lu, Jian Wei

2017-04-18

In order to explore temporal-spatial variability of farmland soil pH at Enshi Antonomous Prefecture, Hubei, China, soil pH during the past three decades was analyzed, using the datasets of the Second National Soil Survey (1980-1983) and the Cultivated Land Quality Evaluation (2010-2013). The natural and human factors inducing the change of soil pH were evaluated to provide theoretical guidance for further soil acidification management. Results showed that acidic soil (i.e., pH＜6.5) and neutral and alkaline soil (i.e., pH 6.5-8.5) were accounted for 98.4% and 1.6% in the farmland during the period of 2010-2013, respectively. The ratio increased 61.4% for the acidic soil but decreased 61.2% for the neutral and alkaline soil as compared with the period of 1980-1983. In addition, there was no alkaline soil (pH>8.5) in the region in 2010-2013. According to the dataset of the Second National Soil Survey (1980-1983), acidic soil was mainly distributed at Laifeng, Lichuan, Xuanen and Xianfeng counties, with the area ratio of 74.4%, 63.5%, 61.3% and 60.7%, respectively. For the period of 2010-2013, the ratio of acidic soil enhanced widely which was above 96% for each county. At Enshi Autonomous Prefecture, farmland soil showed an obvious acidification trend during the past three decades, with spatial variation of higher in the eastern part and lower in the western part of the region. Furthermore, soil pH decline occurred among different land use types in different areas. Overall, farmland soil pH declined 0.90 on average, with 1.14 decrease for upland and 0.87 for paddy soil, respectively. Clearly, upland soil acidification was severe than paddy soil. Factors related to soil acidification in the Enshi Autonomous Prefecture were mainly human factors such as unreasonable fertilizer combination, fertilizer ratio change, and more base cations taking away by high crop yield.

[Study on incidence of HIV infection among heroin addicts receiving methadone maintenance treatment in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province].

PubMed

Duan, Song; Yang, Yue-cheng; Han, Jing; Yang, Shun-sheng; Yang, Ying-bo; Long, Yu-cun; Li, Guo-qiang; Yin, Jin-song; Xiang, Li-fen; Ye, Run-hua; Gao, Jie; Tang, Ren-hai; Pang, Lin; Rou, Ke-ming; Wu, Zun-you; He, Na

2011-12-01

To determine the incidence and risk factors of HIV infection among heroin addicts receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province. All heroin addicts who were HIV negative at the initiation of MMT in June 2005 and through June 2011, in Dehong prefecture were included in the cohort analysis. HIV incidence was calculated and related risk factors determined by using Cox proportional hazard regression model. A total of 3154 MMT clinic attendants were qualified for this cohort study. By June 2011, 1023 (32.4%) of them had never received any follow-up HIV testing so were thus referred as loss to follow-up. The other 2131 (67.6%) members had received at least one follow-up HIV testing and were observed for a total of 4615.86 person-years. During the period, 22 new HIV infections or seroconverters were identified, making the overall HIV incidence as 0.48/100 person-years. The HIV incidence was higher among those who were unemployed, never married, self-reported being injecting drug users (IDUs) and HCV positive at entry into the MMT program. None of those who were always negative on follow-up-urine-testing of morphine was discovered as HIV newly infected during the follow-up period. Data from multiple regression analysis under Cox proportional hazard model indicated that after controlling for confounding variables, non-IDUs at the entry point for the MMT program, were less likely to be HIV newly-infected or seroconverted than IDUs (HR = 0.29, 95%CI: 0.11 - 0.76). MMT program in Dehong prefecture was demonstrated to be fairly effective in reducing HIV transmission through drug use. Those HIV negative attendants at the MMT clinic who were IDUs or keep using drugs during the treatment, were at higher risk of HIV seroconvertion. More efforts were needed to improve the follow-up and HIV testing programs for the MMT clinic attendants.

Medical training in Greece: A crisis in progress.

PubMed

Makris, Gregory C; Trigkidis, Kyriakos K; Apiranthiti, Katerina; Malietzis, George; Alexiou, Vangelis G; Falagas, Matthew E

2015-08-01

We sought to evaluate the opinions of medical students and graduates regarding the quality of medical education in Greece. Two online questionnaires concerning the undergraduate medical education and specialty training respectively were distributed. Regarding the quality of undergraduate medical education, 52.1% of participants replied favorably while clinical training was found satisfactory by 45.1. Dissatisfaction rates with research opportunities and support from tutors reached 88.4 and 83.3%, respectively. The majority (75.3%) supported the introduction of examinations for commencing specialty training. 52.3% of physicians were satisfied with the quality of specialty training. The most common complaint was the absence of a formal educational program. 67.2% of participants were dissatisfied with working conditions during their specialty training, with 70.1% working >60 h per week. Physicians practicing medical specialties were more satisfied with the quality of specialty training than those practicing surgical specialties (odds ratio: 1.43; 95% confidence limits: 1.09-1.87) and were less likely to work for >60 h per week (odds ratio: 0.66; 95% confidence limits: 0.48-0.9). Opinions expressed in this survey highlight the need for reforming medical education in Greece.

Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) for heating and cooling in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimera, Nikoletta

This report presents the results of a theoretical study about the feasibility of closed loop Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) for heating and cooling in Greece in terms of their impact on the capital and running costs of the building services systems of the buildings. The main aim of carrying out this study was to investigate if the heating and cooling potential of the ground could be utilized cost efficiently to serve the buildings energy demand in the Greek region. At first, an existing implementation of a closed loop GSHP system in Greece is presented and its efficiency is discussed. The aim of doing so was to understand the way of sizing such systems and the efficiency of this technology in Greek climatic and ground conditions. In a separate part of this report, the impact of different user behaviour and of various ways of sizing a GSHP system is investigated in terms of the cost impact of the examined different options as well as of their effect on the internal health and comfort conditions. After the building simulation under different scenarios, it was concluded that the user behavior - the operation of windows mostly - can result in great savings on the annual energy bills. The conclusions of this first part of the report about the user behaviour and the way of sizing GSHP systems were utilized in the next part of it, where a GSHP system is proposed for a building currently under construction in central Greece. A simple 30-year cost analysis was used in order to estimate the performance of the proposed GSHP system in economic terms and to compare it with the conventional HVAC system commonly used in Greece. According to the results of the analysis, the capital cost of installing a GSHP system for heating and cooling in buildings in Greece appears higher than the cost of conventional HVAC systems. More specifically, the capital cost of an installation for heating including gas boilers and a cooling system based on air conditioning split units is about the

A Report on Educational Developments in 1975-1976. Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ministry of National Education and Religion, Athens (Greece).

Examining the educational system of Greece, this publication discusses the reorientation of policy, organization, and curriculum after overthrow of the military regime in July 1974. In accordance with the broader democratic principles set forth in the Greek Constitution of 1975, education is now compulsory for six years, free to everyone on all…

The Long Way towards Abandoning ECEC Dichotomy in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rentzou, Konstantina

2018-01-01

Although Greece has a dichotomous system both in terms of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services and in terms of ECEC workers' preparation programmes, in 2016 Greek government's Organization for ECEC organized an open colloquy about the adoption of a 'Unified National Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care', causing a heated…

Neurosurgery during the Bronze Age: a skull trepanation in 1900 BC Greece.

PubMed

Papagrigorakis, Manolis J; Toulas, Panagiotis; Tsilivakos, Manolis G; Kousoulis, Antonis A; Skorda, Despoina; Orfanidis, George; Synodinos, Philippos N

2014-02-01

Paleoneurosurgery represents a comparatively new developing direction of neurosurgery dealing with archaeological skull and spine finds and studying their neurosurgical aspects. Trepanation of the cranial vault was a widespread surgical procedure in antiquity and the most convincing evidence of the ancient origin of neurosurgery. The present study considers a case of trepanation from the Middle Bronze Age Greece (1900-1600 B.C.). The skull under study belongs to skeletal material unearthed from Kirra, Delphi (Central Greece). Macroscopic examination and palpation, as well as three-dimensional computed tomography, were used in this study. There is osteological evidence that the skull belongs to a man who died at 30-35 years of age. The procedure of trepanation was performed on the right parietal bone. Both macroscopic and computed tomography evaluation demonstrate an intravital bone reaction at the edges of the aperture. Projected on the right surface of the brain, the trepanation is located on the level of the central groove. The small dimensions and the symmetrical shape of this hole give us an indication that it was made by a metal tool. We conclude that this paleopathological case provides valuable information about the condition of life and the pre-Hippocratic neurosurgical practice in Bronze Age Greece. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A novel AP92-like Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus strain, Greece.

PubMed

Papa, Anna; Chaligiannis, Ilias; Kontana, Natasa; Sourba, Tatiana; Tsioka, Katerina; Tsatsaris, Andreas; Sotiraki, Smaragda

2014-09-01

Ticks were collected from various regions of northern Greece and tested for the presence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) RNA. Human and animal sera were collected in the regions where CCHFV-positive ticks were detected, and they were tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against the virus. A CCHFV strain was detected in Rhipicephalus bursa ticks collected from sheep in Kastoria regional unit, differing by 9.7% at the nucleotide level from the AP92 strain, which was isolated in 1975 in another region of Greece. Up to date, CCHF cases have not been reported in these regions. The human seroprevalence in the area was estimated at 6%, while IgG-positive sheep was detected in two of the four neighboring farms tested. The circulation of this specific CCHFV lineage in Greece, especially in a region where the seroprevalence is high, together with the lack of human CCHF cases, suggests a probable antigenic, but non- or low-pathogenic character of this lineage. Further studies on these strains will increase our knowledge about the role of AP92-like strains in the CCHF epidemiology, which might be useful for drug and vaccine design. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Anti-Listeria bacteriocin-producing bacteria from raw ewe's milk in northern Greece.

PubMed

Chanos, P; Williams, D R

2011-03-01

The isolation and partial characterization of anti-Listeria bacteriocin producing strains present in milk from areas of northern Greece in view of their potential use as protective cultures in food fermentations. Three hundred and thirty-two isolates were obtained from milk samples intended for Feta cheese production and gathered from 40 individual producers in Northern Greece. Isolates with anti-Listeria activity were identified by multiplex PCR as Enterococcus faecium and grouped by (GTG)(5) -PCR. The genomes of the anti-Listeria isolates were examined for the presence of known enterocin genes and major virulence genes by means of specific PCR. At least three known enterocin encoding genes were present in the genome of each of the 17 isolates. None of the 17 isolates harboured any of the virulence genes tested for or exhibited haemolytic activity. Enterococcus faecium was the dominant anti-Listeria species in the milk samples. The isolates had the potential of multiple bacteriocin production and did not exhibit some important elements of virulence. Enterococci present in milk of this area of northern Greece may be partly responsible for the safety of Feta cheese and could be useful for the production of anti-Listeria protective cultures. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2011 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Emerging Trichinella britovi infections in free ranging pigs of Greece.

PubMed

Boutsini, S; Papatsiros, V G; Stougiou, D; Marucci, G; Liandris, E; Athanasiou, L V; Papadoudis, A; Karagiozopoulos, E; Bisias, A; Pozio, E

2014-01-31

Trichinella infections in humans and pigs have been documented in Greece since 1945 and a high prevalence of infection in pigs occurred in the 1950s. Up to 1984 only sporadic infections in humans were documented, and this zoonosis was not considered as a public health problem until 2009 when a human outbreak caused by the consumption of pork from an organic pig farm occurred. In the present study, we describe the re-emergence of Trichinella spp. infections in free-ranging pigs from organic farms of 3 counties (Dramas, Evros and Kavala) in Northern-Eastern Greece during the period 2009-2012. Totally 37 out of 12,717 (0.29%) free-ranging pigs which were tested during the period in question, were positive for Trichinella spp. larvae. The etiological agent was identified as Trichinella britovi. The average larval burden was 13.7 in the masseter, 6.2 in the foreleg muscles and 7.5 in the diaphragm. The 37 positive animals originated from seven free range pig farms. The practice of organic pig production systems in Greece has grown in popularity over the last years due to the increasing interest of consumers for products considered as traditional. However, this type of pig production increases the risk for Trichinella spp. infections, since animals can acquire the infection by feeding on carcasses or the offal of hunted or dead wild animals. The awareness and education of hunters and farmers is extremely important to reduce the transmission among free ranging pigs and the risk for humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Data and code for the exploratory data analysis of the electrical energy demand in the time domain in Greece.

PubMed

Tyralis, Hristos; Karakatsanis, Georgios; Tzouka, Katerina; Mamassis, Nikos

2017-08-01

We present data and code for visualizing the electrical energy data and weather-, climate-related and socioeconomic variables in the time domain in Greece. The electrical energy data include hourly demand, weekly-ahead forecasted values of the demand provided by the Greek Independent Power Transmission Operator and pricing values in Greece. We also present the daily temperature in Athens and the Gross Domestic Product of Greece. The code combines the data to a single report, which includes all visualizations with combinations of all variables in multiple time scales. The data and code were used in Tyralis et al. (2017) [1].

Adolescent Perceptions of Parenting Styles in Sweden, Italy and Greece: An Exploratory Study

PubMed Central

Olivari, Maria Giulia; Hertfelt Wahn, Elisabeth; Maridaki-Kassotaki, Katerina; Antonopoulou, Katerina; Confalonieri, Emanuela

2015-01-01

Comparative research on parenting styles among Nordic and Mediterranean countries is still missing, despite the increasing number of studies on parenting styles in adolescence. This study explores similarities and differences in adolescents’ retrospective perceptions of parenting styles, for both parents, in Sweden, Italy and Greece, using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. In particular, it examines the relation between parental role, adolescent gender, country of origin, SES and these perceptions. Swedish, Italian and Greek adolescents (N = 702; 30.9% Swedish, 39.6% Italian and 29.5% Greek) participated in the study. To test the principal effects three mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVAs were conducted separately for each parenting style. To verify the interaction effects, a mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVA was tested on authoritative style. Regarding authoritarian and permissive two mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece) ANOVAs were tested. Mothers, as compared to fathers, were perceived as more authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. Moreover, boys perceived their parents as more authoritarian and more permissive than girls. Swedish parents were perceived as significantly less authoritarian than Italian and Greek parents and more permissive than Italian parents; Greek parents were perceived as less authoritarian and more permissive than Italian parents. The study provides an interesting contribution to parenting styles literature, showing how country legislation concerning family matters and SES are related the perception of parenting behaviours. PMID:27247655

Adolescent Perceptions of Parenting Styles in Sweden, Italy and Greece: An Exploratory Study.

PubMed

Olivari, Maria Giulia; Hertfelt Wahn, Elisabeth; Maridaki-Kassotaki, Katerina; Antonopoulou, Katerina; Confalonieri, Emanuela

2015-05-01

Comparative research on parenting styles among Nordic and Mediterranean countries is still missing, despite the increasing number of studies on parenting styles in adolescence. This study explores similarities and differences in adolescents' retrospective perceptions of parenting styles, for both parents, in Sweden, Italy and Greece, using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. In particular, it examines the relation between parental role, adolescent gender, country of origin, SES and these perceptions. Swedish, Italian and Greek adolescents (N = 702; 30.9% Swedish, 39.6% Italian and 29.5% Greek) participated in the study. To test the principal effects three mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVAs were conducted separately for each parenting style. To verify the interaction effects, a mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece)*3(SES; low, medium and high) ANOVA was tested on authoritative style. Regarding authoritarian and permissive two mixed 2(parent; mother and father)*2(gender; girl and boy)*3(countries; Sweden, Italy and Greece) ANOVAs were tested. Mothers, as compared to fathers, were perceived as more authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. Moreover, boys perceived their parents as more authoritarian and more permissive than girls. Swedish parents were perceived as significantly less authoritarian than Italian and Greek parents and more permissive than Italian parents; Greek parents were perceived as less authoritarian and more permissive than Italian parents. The study provides an interesting contribution to parenting styles literature, showing how country legislation concerning family matters and SES are related the perception of parenting behaviours.

Factors associated with adolescent cigarette smoking in Greece: Results from a cross sectional study (GYTS Study)

PubMed Central

Rachiotis, George; Muula, Adamson S; Rudatsikira, Emmanuel; Siziya, Seter; Kyrlesi, Athina; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos

2008-01-01

Background Data about the predictors of smoking among adolescents in Greece are sparse. We tried to identify factors associated with current cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in Greece in the context of GYTS study. Methods A secondary analysis of data from a questionnaire study using the Global Youth Tobacco Survey methodology was conducted to identify factors associated with smoking among adolescents in Greece. Data were collected in 2004–2005. The outcome variable was cigarette smoking within the past 30 days preceding the survey while independent variables included age, gender, parental educational status, parental smoking, perception of harmfulness of smoking, and the amount of pocket money at the adolescent's disposal. Results 6141 adolescents (51.5% males and 48.5% females) participated in the study. In multivariate analysis, cigarette smoking was associated with male gender (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1, 08–3.08), parental smoking (OR: 2.59; 95% CI: 1.45–5.89), and having pocket money ≥ 16 Euros (OR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.19–5.98). Conclusion Male gender, parental smoking, and having pocket-money ≥ 16 Euros were independently associated with current smoking among Greek students. These findings could be taken into account in order to formulate a comprehensive anti-smoking strategy in Greece. PMID:18793389

Outbreak of West Nile virus infection in Greece, 2010.

PubMed

Danis, Kostas; Papa, Anna; Theocharopoulos, George; Dougas, Georgios; Athanasiou, Maria; Detsis, Marios; Baka, Agoritsa; Lytras, Theodoros; Mellou, Kassiani; Bonovas, Stefanos; Panagiotopoulos, Takis

2011-10-01

During 2010, an outbreak of West Nile virus infection occurred in Greece. A total of 197 patients with neuroinvasive disease were reported, of whom 33 (17%) died. Advanced age and a history of heart disease were independently associated with death, emphasizing the need for prevention of this infection in persons with these risk factors.

Understanding Curriculum Change in an ELT School in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kostoulas, Achilleas; Stelma, Juup

2017-01-01

This article reports on a case study of a language school in Greece, with a view to putting forward an understanding of the drivers that sustain or delay curricular innovation. Key to this understanding is the construct of intentionality, defined as "purposes" that drive teaching and learning activity. In the article, we describe three…

Guidelines for the recognition of cemetery remains in Greece.

PubMed

Eliopoulos, Constantine; Moraitis, Konstantinos; Reyes, Federico; Spiliopoulou, Chara; Manolis, Sotiris

2011-06-01

Forensic pathologists frequently consult anthropologists for the identification of skeletonized human remains. These remains may be the result of criminal activity or remains that were unearthed because of erosion, or during construction projects. In some cases, human remains that had been previously buried in a cemetery may be the subject of a forensic investigation. Early recognition of cemetery remains prevents unnecessary efforts and conserves precious resources. One of the key characteristics of cemetery remains is the presence of embalmed tissue. However, there are countries where embalming is not a common practice, and other clues must be sought for identifying previously buried remains. Current funerary customs in Greece and, in particular, the tradition of exhumations result in a large number of misplaced human remains. The present study presents examples of cemetery remains from Greece and offers guidelines for recognizing changes on skeletal remains that may be indicative of a cemetery origin. Location of discovery, condition of the remains, and the types of associated artifacts are all factors that aid forensic anthropologists in identifying cemetery remains.

Scanning the Business External Environment for Information: Evidence from Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kourteli, Liana

2005-01-01

Introduction: This paper examines the business external environment scanning theory for information in the context of Greece. Method. A questionnaire was developed to explore the relationships between general and task business environment, perceived uncertainty, scanning strategy, and sources of information with respect to type of environment,…

Incidence of pests and viral disease on pepino (Solanum muricatum Ait.) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

PubMed Central

Kim, Ok-Kyung; Yamada, Yoshihiro; Sato, Takuma; Shinohara, Hirosuke; Takahata, Ken

2017-01-01

Abstract Background The solanaceous fruit crop pepino (Solanum muricatum Ait.), originating in the Andes, is grown commercially in South American countries and New Zealand. In these areas, pests and diseases of pepino have been identified well; however, to date, these have seldom been investigated in detail in Japan. Herein, we attempt to reconstruct an agricultural production system for commercial pepino crops in Japan, and evaluate the incidence of pests and viral diseases on pepino. The findings of this study will facilitate in developing a better crop system for the commercial cultivation of healthy pepino fruits. New information A total of 11 species, comprising nine insects and two mites, were recognized as pests of pepino plants in our experimental fields in Kanagawa Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. Of these pest species, the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 and the cotton aphid Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877, were remarkably abundant than the other pest species. Eventually, 13 species, including two previously recorded, are currently recognized as the pests of pepino in Japan. With regard to viruses, we tested two species Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), as well as three genera Carlavirus, Potexvirus, and Potyvirus. No virus was detected in symptomatic pepino leaves collected in our experimental fields. This is a first report on the identification of pests on pepino plants in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan and elucidates the relationship between currently occurring pests of pepino plants and potential viral pathogens that they can transmit. PMID:28947875

Is There a Need for a Higher Dance Institution in Greece? The Reality in Greek Contemporary Dance Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsompanaki, Eleni

2014-01-01

Is there a need for dance to enter higher education in Greece? Can contemporary dance be viewed as a discipline on its own right? These questions inspired the research conducted in three case study institutions (out of six that exist) in Greece, examining the reality within them as experienced by dance students, lecturers, course leaders and the…

Groundwater quality of porous aquifers in Greece: a synoptic review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daskalaki, P.; Voudouris, K.

2008-04-01

Greece is dependent on groundwater resources for its water supply. The main aquifers are within carbonate rocks (karstic aquifers) and coarse grained Neogene and Quaternary deposits (porous aquifers). The use of groundwater resources has become particularly intensive in coastal areas during the last decades with the intense urbanization, tourist development and irrigated land expansion. Sources of groundwater pollution are the seawater intrusion due to over-exploitation of coastal aquifers, the fertilizers from agricultural activities and the disposal of untreated wastewater in torrents or in old pumping wells. In the last decades the total abstractions from coastal aquifers exceed the natural recharge; so the aquifer systems are not used safely. Over-exploitation causes a negative water balance, triggering seawater intrusion. Seawater intrusion phenomena are recorded in coastal aquifer systems. Nitrate pollution is the second major source of groundwater degradation in many areas in Greece. The high levels of nitrate are probably the result of over-fertilization and the lack of sewage systems in some urban areas.

Plato and Play: Taking Education Seriously in Ancient Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Angour, Armand

2013-01-01

In this article, the author outlines Plato's notions of play in ancient Greek culture and shows how the philosopher's views on play can be best appreciated against the background of shifting meanings and evaluations of play in classical Greece. Play--in various forms such as word play, ritual, and music--proved central to the development of…

Isolation of Dobrava Virus from Apodemus flavicollis in Greece

PubMed Central

Papa, Anna; Nemirov, Kirill; Henttonen, Heikki; Niemimaa, Jukka; Antoniadis, Antonis; Vaheri, Antti; Plyusnin, Alexander; Vapalahti, Olli

2001-01-01

Dobrava virus (DOBV) carried by Apodemus flavicollis is the causative agent of severe hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). DOBV was isolated from an A. flavicollis mouse trapped in northeastern Greece. This is the third DOBV cell culture isolate in the world, clustering together with other Greek DOBV sequences from HFRS patients and rodents. PMID:11376073

Cold War Conflict: American Intervention in Greece

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-05-01

PR**E*L*U* D * * *A** R *A* *I*V**V PRELUDE TO AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT 7 The Greek Civil War cannot be understood simply by looking at the years 1947-1949...30 1. John 0. Iatrides, Ambassador MacVeagh Reports: Greece 1933-1947 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1980), 8. 2. D . George Kousoulas...N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1980), 376-377. 13. Ibid., 372. 14. R . Harris Smith, OSS: The Secret History of America’s First Central Intelligence

Cassini Scientist for a Day: an international contest in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solomonidou, Anezina; Moussas, Xenophon; Xystouris, Georgios; Coustenis, Athena; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre; Katsavrias, Christos; Bampasidis, Georgios; Kyriakopoulos, Konstantinos; Kouloumvakos, Athanasios; Patsou, Ioanna

2013-04-01

The Cassini Outreach Team of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is being organizing a brilliant school contest in Astronomy focusing in the Saturnian system. This essay contest provides school students all around the worlds with the opportunity to get involved in astronomy and astrophysics and planetary sciences in particular. From 2010 the 'Cassini Scientist for a Day' contest has being one of the most successful as well as important outreach activities of ESA and NASA in Greece with hundreds of participants all over Greece. The number of participants is growing rapidly every year. This type of school competition in Greece is particularly important since Astronomy and Astrophysics and Space Sciences, although very popular, are not included in the school curricula and thus students rarely have the opportunity to experience and participate actively in these subjects. For the years 2010 and 2011, the Space Physics Group of the Astronomy, Astrophysics and Mechanics section of the University of Athens in association with external colleagues has been selected as the co-ordinator of NASA for the competition in Greece. Under the guidance of Cassini Outreach team, the members of the Space Physics Group have informed, explained and spread the rules of the competition at primary, secondary and high schools all over Greece. In general, the students have the option to choose Cassini monitoring between three targets of the Saturnian system, which the participants show that will bring the best scientific result. Their arguments should be summarized in an essay of 500 words more or less. They also have the option to do team work through groups of maximum three students. The participation in the contest for 2010 was unexpectedly high and thoroughly satisfied. The winners awarded through a ceremony which was held in the largest amphitheater at the central building of the University of Athens, that was fully packed. The following year 2011 the participation increased up to 300% while

Climate change induced lanslide hazard mapping over Greece- A case study in Pelion Mountain (SE Thessaly, Central Greece)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angelitsa, Varvara; Loupasakis, Constantinos; Anagnwstopoulou, Christina

2015-04-01

Landslides, as a major type of geological hazard, represent one of the natural events that occur most frequently worldwide after hydro-meteorological events. Landslides occur when the stability of a slope changes due to a number of factors, such as the steep terrain and prolonged precipitation. Identification of landslides and compilation of landslide susceptibility, hazard and risk maps are very important issues for the public authorities providing substantial information regarding, the strategic planning and management of the land-use. Although landslides cannot be predicted accurately, many attempts have been made to compile these maps. Important factors for the the compilation of reliable maps are the quality and the amount of available data and the selection of the best method for the analysis. Numerous studies and publications providing landslide susceptibility,hazard and risk maps, for different regions of Greece, have completed up to now. Their common characteristic is that they are static, taking into account parameters like geology, mean annual precipitaion, slope, aspect, distance from roads, faults and drainage network, soil capability, land use etc., without introducing the dimension of time. The current study focuses on the Pelion Mountain, which is located at the southeastern part of Thessaly in Central Greece; aiming to compile "dynamic" susceptibility and hazard maps depending on climate changes. For this purpose, past and future precipipation data from regional climate models (RCMs) datasets are introduced as input parameters for the compilation of "dynamic" landslide hazard maps. Moreover, land motion mapping data produced by Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) are used for the validation of the landslide occurrence during the period from June 1992 to December 2003 and as a result for the calibration of the mapping procedure. The PSI data can be applied at a regional scale as support for land motion mapping and at local scale for the

Magnetic Prospecting On Ancient Towns In Turkey and Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smekalova, T.; Smekalov, S.

Magnetic prospecting on ancient towns in Turkey and Greece. Tatyana Smekalova, Sergey Smekalov. Saint-Petersburg In 2001 archaeophysical group of Saint-Petersburg State University participated in archaeological investigation of ancient town Pisidian Antioch in Turkey (near mod- ern town Yalvach) and ancient town Kalydon in Greece (not far from modern town Mesolongy). Both sites have a big size (more than kilometer in perimeter) and com- plicated hilly relief (especially Kalydon). The mine idea of the magnetic survey on the sites was to try the method of magnetic prospecting in conditions of the sites, to estimate the possibilities and limitations of the method and to reveal ancient structures on several different parts of the site. Magnetic survey on the Pisidian Antioch carried out in four areas of the site showed that much could be recovered by this non-invasive technique. Most significantly, sur- vey of the area previously thought to contain a palestra shows instead the plan of a Christian basilica. Other areas included houses, streets, important elements in the water system and industrial establishments. The work was supported by Columbia University, USA On the Ancient Kalydon, the whole area of the site was investigated by method of Sfree searchT that is walking with magnetometers and measuring without a grid. Five ´ different areas have been chosen for detail investigation with regular grid. The most interesting result is in one of the the areas, where it seems to be an SindustrialT quar- & cedil;ter of the site. There are several workshops, revealed on this place. The work was supported by Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Denmark. During the work on both sites we used GPS equipment to put the survey areas on the maps. Simultaneously with magnetic survey archaeological teams made a usual topographical survey of the sites (team of Calgary University in Turkey, Canada and team of Greece topographers, working together with Danish archaeologist in Greece). Thanks to that

Pedagogical Beliefs and Attitudes of Computer Science Teachers in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fessakis, Georgios; Karakiza, Tsampika

2011-01-01

Pedagogical beliefs and attitudes significantly determine the professional skills and practice of teachers. Many professional development programs for teachers aim to the elaboration of the pedagogical knowledge in order to improve teaching quality. This paper presents the study of pedagogical beliefs of computer science teachers in Greece. The…

Private expenditure and the role of private health insurance in Greece: status quo and future trends.

PubMed

Siskou, Olga; Kaitelidou, Daphne; Economou, Charalampos; Kostagiolas, Peter; Liaropoulos, Lycourgos

2009-10-01

The health care system in Greece is financed in almost equal proportions by public and private sources. Private expenditure, consists mostly of out-of-pocket and under-the-table payments. Such payments strongly suggest dissatisfaction with the public system, due to under financing during the last 25 years. This gap has been filled rapidly by the private sector. From this point of view, one might suggest that the flourishing development of private provision may lead in turn to a corresponding growth in private health insurance (PHI). This paper aims to examine the role of PHI in Greece, to identify the factors influencing its development, and to make some suggestions about future policies and trends. In the decade of 1985-1995 PHI show increasing activity, reflecting the intention of some citizens to seek health insurance solutions in the form of supplementary cover in order to ensure faster access, better quality of services, and increased consumer choice. The benefits include programs covering hospital expenses, cash benefits, outpatient care expenses, disability income insurance, as well as limited managed care programs. However, despite recent interest, PHI coverage remains low in Greece compared to other EU countries. Economic, social and cultural factors such as low average household income, high unemployment, obligatory and full coverage by social insurance, lead to reluctance to pay for second-tier insurance. Instead, there is a preference to pay a doctor or hospital directly even in the form of under-the-table payments (which are remarkably high in Greece), when the need arises. There are also factors endogenous to the PHI industry, related to market policies, low organisational capacity, cream skimming, and the absence of insurance products meeting consumer requirements, which explain the relatively low state of development of PHI in Greece.

Incidence of human brucellosis in a rural area in Western Greece after the implementation of a vaccination programme against animal brucellosis

PubMed Central

Jelastopulu, Eleni; Bikas, Christos; Petropoulos, Chrysanthos; Leotsinidis, Michalis

2008-01-01

Background Brucellosis continues to be an important source of morbidity in several countries, particularly among agricultural and pastoral populations. The purpose of this study was to examine if there is an effect on the incidence of human brucellosis after the implementation of an animal brucellosis control programme. Methods The study was conducted in the Municipality of Tritaia in the Prefecture of Achaia in Western Greece during the periods 1997–1998 and 2000–2002. Health education efforts were made during 1997–1998 to make the public take preventive measures. In the time period from January 1999 to August 2002 a vaccination programme against animal brucellosis was realised in the specific region. The vaccine used was the B. melitensis Rev-1 administered by the conjuctival route. Comparisons were performed between the incidence rates of the two studied periods. Results There was a great fall in the incidence rate between 1997–1998 (10.3 per 1,000 population) and the period 2000–2002 after the vaccination (0.3 per 1,000 population). The considerable decrease of the human incidence rate is also observed in the period 2000–2002 among persons whose herds were not as yet vaccinated (1.4 vs. 10.3 per 1,000 population), indicating a possible role of health education in the decline of human brucellosis. Conclusion The study reveals a statistically significant decline in the incidence of human brucellosis after the vaccination programme and underlines the importance of an ongoing control of animal brucellosis in the prevention of human brucellosis. The reduction of human brucellosis can be best achieved by a combination of health education and mass animal vaccination. PMID:18637172

Relationships between mental health distress and work-related factors among prefectural public servants two months after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

PubMed

Fukasawa, Maiko; Suzuki, Yuriko; Obara, Akiko; Kim, Yoshiharu

2015-02-01

In times of disaster, public servants face multiple burdens as they engage in a demanding and stressful disaster-response work while managing their own needs caused by the disaster. We investigated the effects of work-related factors on the mental health of prefectural public servants working in the area devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake to identify some ideas for organizational work modifications to protect their mental health. Two months after the earthquake, Miyagi prefecture conducted a self-administered health survey of prefectural public servants and obtained 4,331 (82.8%) valid responses. We investigated relationships between mental health distress (defined as K6 ≥ 13) and work-related variables (i.e., job type, overwork, and working environment) stratified by level of earthquake damage experienced. The proportion of participants with mental health distress was 3.0% in the group that experienced less damage and 5.9% in the group that experienced severe damage. In the group that experienced less damage, working >100 h of overtime per month (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-3.82) and poor workplace communication (adjusted OR, 10.96; 95% CI, 6.63-18.09) increased the risk of mental health distress. In the group that experienced severe damage, handling residents' complaints (adjusted OR, 4.79; 95% CI, 1.55-14.82) and poor workplace communication (adjusted OR, 9.14; 95% CI, 3.34-24.97) increased the risk, whereas involvement in disaster-related work (adjusted OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.18-0.86) decreased the risk. Workers who have experienced less disaster-related damage might benefit from working fewer overtime hours, and those who have experienced severe damage might benefit from avoiding contact with residents and engaging in disaster-related work. Facilitating workplace communication appeared important for both groups of workers.

Cassini Scientist for a Day: an international contest in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solomonidou, A.; Moussas, X.; Coustenis, A.; Lebreton, J.-P.; Bampasidis, G.; Kyriakopoulos, K.; Kouloumvakos, A.; Xystouris, G.; Sigala, E.; Patsou, I.

2012-04-01

The international contest 'Cassini Scientist for a Day', organized by the Cassini Outreach team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, provides school students all around the world with the opportunity to get involved in astronomy and astrophysics and planetary sciences in particular. It gives excellent opportunity for outreach and publicity for the Cassini mission and ESA and NASA activities in Greece. For the years 2010 and 2011, the Space Physics Group of the Astronomy, Astrophysics and Mechanics section of the University of Athens in association with external colleagues has been selected as the co-ordinator of NASA for the competition in Greece. This kind of school competition in Greece is particularly important since Astronomy and Astrophysics and Space Sciences, although very popular, are not included in the school curricula and thus students rarely have the opportunity to experience and participate actively in these subjects. Under the guidance of Cassini Outreach team, the members of the Space Physics Group have informed, explained and spread the rules of the competition at primary, secondary and high schools all over Greece. Our members kept open communication with students, teachers and parents throughout the holding of the competition for questions and guidance. In general, the students have the option to choose Cassini monitoring between three targets of the Saturnian system, which will bring the best scientific result. Their arguments should be summarized in an essay of 500 words more or less. They also have the option to do team work through groups of maximum three students. The participation in the contest for 2010 was unexpectedly high and thoroughly satisfied. The winners awarded through a ceremony which was held in the largest amphitheater at the central building of the University of Athens, that was fully packed. A large number of the participants of the 2010 contest are either participating in the new contest of 2011-2012 or -since some of them

Religious Education in Greece: A New Curriculum, an Old Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koukounaras Liagkis, Marios

2015-01-01

Religious Education (RE) in Greece is a compulsory school subject according the 2011 new framework for compulsory education, entitled "New School". This article focuses on two statutory documents for RE, "The Curriculum for RE" and the "The Teacher's Guide for RE", and the pilot scheme of the new curriculum running in…

Vocational Training in the Textiles and Clothing Industries in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drimousis, I.; Zisimopoulos, A.

This document examines the circumstances under which vocational training in Greece is provided for jobs in the textile and clothing industries. Its objective is to identify guidelines for vocational training for a skilled work force at regional and national levels and to contribute to job mobility between industries. Statistical data,…

AFTERSHOCK SEQUENCES AND CRUSTAL STRUCTURE IN THE REGION OF GREECE.

DTIC Science & Technology

the strain release characteristics and other properties of the aftershock and foreshock sequences (1) of all shocks of M 5.9 which have occurred in...relation between the water loading of two artificial lakes in the region of Greece and the earthquake activity in foreshocks or swarm of shocks triggered

Implementing Innovation in Primary EFL: A Case Study in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karavas, Evdokia

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to highlight and discuss the strategies used to diffuse and manage a primary ELT innovation in Greece, strategies that proved essential for developing stakeholders' acceptance and ownership of the innovation, thereby facilitating its further development and sustainability. The PEAP Programme, launched in 2010,…

Bridging knowledge to develop an action plan for integrated care for chronic diseases in Greece

PubMed Central

Lionis, Christos; Yfantopoulos, John

2015-01-01

The health, social and economic impact of chronic diseases is well documented in Europe. However, chronic diseases threaten relatively more the ‘memorandum and peripheral’ Eurozone countries (i.e., Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland), which were under heavy recession after the economic crisis in 2009. Especially in Greece, where the crisis was the most severe across Europe, the austerity measures affected mainly people with chronic diseases. As a result, the urgency to tackle the threat of chronic diseases in Greece by promoting public health and providing effective chronic care while flattening the rising health care expenditure is eminent. In many European countries, integrated care is seen as a means to achieve this. The aim of this paper was to support Greek health policy makers to develop an action plan from 2015 onwards, to integrate care by bridging local policy context and needs with knowledge and experience from other European countries. To achieve this aim, we adopted a conceptual framework developed by the World Health Organization on one hand to analyse the status of integrated care in Greece, and on the other to develop an action plan for reform. The action plan was based on an analysis of the Greek health care system regarding prerequisite conditions to integrate care, a clear understanding of its context and successful examples of integrated care from other European countries. This study showed that chronic diseases are poorly addressed in Greece and integrated care is in embryonic stage. Greek policy makers have to realise that this is the opportunity to make substantial reforms in chronic care. Failing to reform towards integrated care would lead to the significant risk of collapse of the Greek health care system with all associated negative consequences. The action plan provided in this paper could support policy makers to make the first serious step to face this challenge. The details and specifications of the action plan can only be decided

Prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection in haemodialysis patients from central Greece

PubMed Central

Mina, Paraskevi; Georgiadou, Sarah P; Rizos, Christos; Dalekos, George N; Rigopoulou, Eirini I

2010-01-01

AIM: To assess the hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA and the prevalence of occult HBV infection in end-stage renal failure (ESRF) patients from Central Greece. METHODS: Sera from 366 ESRF patients attending five out of six dialysis units from Central Greece were investigated for HBV-DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Only serum samples with repeatedly detectable HBV-DNA were considered positive. IgG antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were tested by a third generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while IgG antibodies to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) were tested by two commercially available ELISAs. RESULTS: HBV-DNA was detected in 15/366 patients (4.1%) and HBsAg in 20/366 (5.5%). The prevalence of occult HBV infection was 0.9% (3/346 HBsAg-negative patients). Occult HBV was not associated with a specific marker of HBV infection or anti-HCV or anti-HEV reactivity. There was no significant difference in HBV-DNA titres, demographic and biochemical features, between patients with occult HBV infection and those with HBsAg-positive chronic HBV infection. CONCLUSION: In central Greece, 4% of ESRF patients had detectable HBV-DNA, though in this setting, the prevalence of occult HBV seems to be very low (0.9%). PMID:20066742

Endoparasites of Wild Mammals Sheltered in Wildlife Hospitals and Rehabilitation Centres in Greece

PubMed Central

Liatis, Theophanes K.; Monastiridis, Antonios A.; Birlis, Panagiotis; Prousali, Sophia; Diakou, Anastasia

2017-01-01

Wildlife parasitic diseases represent an important field of investigation as they may have a significant impact on wild animals’ health and fitness, and may also have zoonotic implications. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of endoparasites in wild mammals admitted to wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres in Greece. Sixty-five animals belonging to 17 species and originated from various areas of continental and insular Greece were included in the survey. The most numerous animal species examined were hedgehogs (n = 19), red foxes (n = 16), and European roe deer (n = 6). Faecal samples were collected individually and examined by floatation and sedimentation method. Parasites were found in 46 (70.7%) of the animals. Most parasites found in canids, felids, and ruminants are of great relevance to the domestic animals’ health and some of them are also of zoonotic importance. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first report of endoparasites in hedgehogs, roe deers, fallow deers, badgers, and bats, and the first report of the pulmonary nematode Troglostrongylus brevior in a wild cat in Greece. The significance of the parasites found in each animal species in regard to their health and their relevance to domestic animals and human health is discussed. PMID:29326954

Prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection in haemodialysis patients from central Greece.

PubMed

Mina, Paraskevi; Georgiadou, Sarah P; Rizos, Christos; Dalekos, George N; Rigopoulou, Eirini I

2010-01-14

To assess the hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA and the prevalence of occult HBV infection in end-stage renal failure (ESRF) patients from Central Greece. Sera from 366 ESRF patients attending five out of six dialysis units from Central Greece were investigated for HBV-DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Only serum samples with repeatedly detectable HBV-DNA were considered positive. IgG antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were tested by a third generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while IgG antibodies to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) were tested by two commercially available ELISAs. HBV-DNA was detected in 15/366 patients (4.1%) and HBsAg in 20/366 (5.5%). The prevalence of occult HBV infection was 0.9% (3/346 HBsAg-negative patients). Occult HBV was not associated with a specific marker of HBV infection or anti-HCV or anti-HEV reactivity. There was no significant difference in HBV-DNA titres, demographic and biochemical features, between patients with occult HBV infection and those with HBsAg-positive chronic HBV infection. In central Greece, 4% of ESRF patients had detectable HBV-DNA, though in this setting, the prevalence of occult HBV seems to be very low (0.9%).

Results of a Prospective Study of Acute Coronary Syndrome Hospitalization After Enactment of a Smoking Ban in Public Places in Hyogo Prefecture　- Comparison With Gifu, a Prefecture Without a Public Smoking Ban.

PubMed

Sato, Yukihito; Minatoguchi, Shinya; Nishigaki, Kazuhiko; Hirata, Ken-Ichi; Masuyama, Tohru; Furukawa, Yutaka; Uematsu, Masaaki; Yoshikawa, Junichi; Otsuji, Satoru; Iida, Mami; Fujiwara, Hisayoshi

2016-11-25

Hyogo Prefecture is the 2nd prefecture in Japan, after Kanagawa, to enact a ban with penal code on smoking in public places, although the restriction is partial.Methods and Results:This study included consecutive patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) who were admitted to 33 major hospitals in the Hyogo District during the 12 months before implementation of the legislation and during the 24 months thereafter. Consecutive patients with ACS from Gifu Prefecture who were admitted to 20 major hospitals were enrolled as geographical controls. The number of ACS admissions did not change from the years 2012-2015 in both Hyogo District (1,774 in the pre-year, 1,784 in the 1st year, and 1,720 in the 2nd year) and Gifu Prefecture (1,226 in the pre-year, 1,174 in the 1st year, and 1,206 in the 2nd year). However, a clear reduction was observed in the subanalysis for Kobe City (895 in the preceding year, 830 (-7.3%) in the 1st year, and 792 (-11.5%) in the 2nd year), where adherence to the smoking ban was higher than in other Hyogo districts. The primary endpoint did not show a significant change. However, the subanalysis showed a significant decrease in ACS admissions in Kobe City. These results suggest that ACS reduction may depend on the degree of adherence to a smoking ban. (Circ J 2016; 80: 2528-2532).

[Tree pollen dispersion in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture].

PubMed

Fujii, Mayumi; Okazaki, Kenji; Makiyama, Kiyoshi; Hisamatsu, Kenichi

2013-11-01

The authors investigated the atmospheric tree pollen dispersion in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture for 12 years for the purpose of the prophylaxis and treatment of pollinosis. We set up a Durham sampler on the rooftop of the three-story building in Ito City, and counted atmospheric pollen grouping first, Taxodiaceae and Cupressaceae; second, Pinaceae and Podocarpaceae; third, Betulaceae and Ulmaceae; last, Fagaceae. The counts of atmospheric tree pollen on season and the weather from January to June were treated statistically and analyzed on the computer program Microsoft Excel. Each average and SD of total pollen count was, in order, 7079±6503 count/cm(2), 502±146 count/cm(2), 891±480 count/cm(2), 906±481 count/cm(2). The last summer weather correlates to the atmospheric pollen count of Taxodiaceae, Cupressaceae, Betulaceace and Ulmaceae. The atmospheric pollen count of Taxodiaceae and Cupressaceae in spring is influenced by the weather; their atmospheric pollen count is reduced by a heavy rain or a heavy snow out of season. The atmospheric pollen count of Pinaceae, Podocarpaceae and Fagaceae does not relate to the weather. As a result of having examined the relations between the count of the atmospheric pollen and the weather in Ito City, I recognized relations in Taxodiaceae, Cupressaceae, Pinaceae and Podocarpaceae, but there were not the relations of intentionality in Betulaceae, Ulmaceae and Fagaceae.

Patients' perceptions of generic drugs in Greece.

PubMed

Skaltsas, Leonora N; Vasileiou, Konstantinos Z

2015-11-01

The use of generic drugs is growing increasingly around the world and in Greece, in particular, in order to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure. However, patients' perceptions and attitudes about generics have only partially been studied so far in Greece. This study aimed to examine the factors that influence the attitude of patients and consumers regarding generic drugs. A questionnaire survey of 364 patients visiting a pharmacy was conducted. The questionnaire consisted of 29 questions, including questions regarding their knowledge about generics, the reasons for using them, their previous experience, their willingness for generic substitution, and the factors behind these choices. Nearly half of the participants in the survey know the term 'generic' and that it has a lower price compared to the brand name drug. Their views on safety and efficacy vary significantly and the main source of information on generics is the media and the internet. The lack of knowledge is the main barrier for attitudes of doctors. Health professionals play the most influential role for the substitution of a branded drug by a generic, followed by the cost of the generic. Almost half of the patients know about generic drugs, with their lower price being the most popular feature which most patients are familiar with. It seems that primarily the doctor and, subsequently the pharmacist play the most important role in a patient's decision to replace his/her medicine with a generic. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Home health nursing care services in Greece during an economic crisis.

PubMed

Adamakidou, T; Kalokerinou-Anagnostopoulou, A

2017-03-01

The purpose of this review was to describe public home healthcare nursing services in Greece. The effectiveness and the efficiency of home healthcare nursing are well documented in the international literature. In Greece, during the current financial crisis, the development of home healthcare nursing services is the focus and interest of policymakers and academics because of its contribution to the viability of the healthcare system. A review was conducted of the existing legislation, the printed and electronic bibliography related to the legal framework, the structures that provide home health care, the funding of the services, the human resources and the services provided. The review of the literature revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the existing system of home health care and its opportunities and threats, which are summarized in a SWOT analysis. There is no Greek nursing literature on this topic. The development of home health nursing care requires multidimensional concurrent and combined changes and adjustments that would support and strengthen healthcare professionals in their practices. Academic and nursing professionals should provide guidelines and regulations and develop special competencies for the best nursing practice in home health care. At present, in Greece, which is in an economic crisis and undergoing reforms in public administration, there is an undeniable effort being made to give primary health care the position it deserves within the health system. There is an urgent need at central and academic levels to develop home healthcare services to improve the quality and efficiency of the services provided. © 2016 International Council of Nurses.

Fire in Southern Greece

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

The last major fire in southern Greece was brought under control this weekend, but not until over 469,000 acres of mostly forest and farmland were destroyed. An estimated 4000 people lost their homes, and over 60 deaths were reported. These were the worst fires ever to occur in Greece. In this Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image acquired September 4 over the western coast of the Peloponnesus Peninsula, burned areas appear in dark red, and unburned vegetation is green. The area includes the ancient site of Olympia, the site of the Olympic Games in classical times. The fires came within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of the archaeological site, but spared it.

With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet.

ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra spacecraft. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products.

The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.

The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

Size: 56.4 by

Diet of the classical period of Greece and Rome.

PubMed

Waterlow, J C

1989-01-01

The diet of ordinary people in Greece and Rome was derived from cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruit, olive oil, milk, cheese and a little fish and meat. This pattern fits well with what we would not regard as a healthy diet. In both Greece and Rome the bulk of cereals had to be imported, with a good deal of government control. The available evidence suggests that the official rations, if fairly distributed, would have provided an adequate energy intake. The cost of luxury foods such as meat, in relation to that of flour, was much higher than in modern times. The expectation of life at birth was only 30-35 years, but it was long enough to allow for children to be born and for the populations to expand. No reliable information has been found about infant and child mortality. The reasons for life on average being so short were probably disease and war, rather than malnutrition. It is difficult to conceive how the Greeks and Romans could have achieved such remarkable feats, which involved far more than a small elite, if they had not in general had an adequate and nourishing diet.

75 FR 15991 - Designation of Greece for the Visa Waiver Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-31

... of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, designated Greece as a country... Security, Office of Policy, (202) 282-8732. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background A. The Visa Waiver... of Homeland Security (the Secretary), in consultation with the Secretary of State, may designate...

The Role of Music in the Education of Young Male Workers in Nineteenth-Century Greece: The Case of Charity Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barbaki, Maria

2015-01-01

This paper presents music teaching in nineteenth-century Greece orphanages and schools of destitute children, which were the main schools for vocational training of the working class in that period. Five representative institutions were selected. Music education for young male workers in nineteenth-century Greece was both in accord with and…

The great East Japan earthquake disaster: distribution of hospital damage in Miyagi Prefecture.

PubMed

Ochi, Sae; Nakagawa, Atsuhiro; Lewis, James; Hodgson, Susan; Murray, Virginia

2014-06-01

In catastrophic events, a key to reducing health risks is to maintain functioning of local health facilities. However, little research has been conducted on what types and levels of care are the most likely to be affected by catastrophic events. Problem The Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster (GEJED) was one of a few "mega disasters" that have occurred in an industrialized society. This research aimed to develop an analytical framework for the holistic understanding of hospital damage due to the disaster. Hospital damage data in Miyagi Prefecture at the time of the GEJED were collected retrospectively. Due to the low response rate of questionnaire-based surveillance (7.7%), publications of the national and local governments, medical associations, other nonprofit organizations, and home web pages of hospitals were used, as well as literature and news sources. The data included information on building damage, electricity and water supply, and functional status after the earthquake. Geographical data for hospitals, coastline, local boundaries, and the in undated areas, as well as population size and seismic intensity were collected from public databases. Logistic regression was conducted to identify the risk factors for hospitals ceasing inpatient and outpatient services. The impact was displayed on maps to show the geographical distribution of damage. Data for 143 out of 147 hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture (97%) were obtained. Building damage was significantly associated with closure of both inpatient and outpatient wards. Hospitals offering tertiary care were more resistant to damage than those offering primary care, while those with a higher proportion of psychiatric care beds were more likely to cease functioning, even after controlling for hospital size, seismic intensity, and distance from the coastline. Implementation of building regulations is vital for all health care facilities, irrespective of function. Additionally, securing electricity and water supplies

Increasing Incidence of Zoonotic Visceral Leishmaniasis on Crete, Greece

PubMed Central

Antoniou, Maria; Messaritakis, Ippokratis; Christodoulou, Vasiliki; Ascoksilaki, Ioanna; Kanavakis, Nikos; Sutton, Andrew J.; Carson, Connor

2009-01-01

To determine whether the incidence of canine leishmaniasis has increased on Crete, Greece, we fitted infection models to serodiagnostic records of 8,848 dog samples for 1990–2006. Models predicted that seroprevalence has increased 2.4% (95% confidence interval 1.61%–3.51%) per year and that incidence has increased 2.2- to 3.8-fold over this 17-year period. PMID:19523295

Rallou Manou and Her Contribution to Modern Dance in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pagona, Bournelli

2008-01-01

The aim of this study is to present Rallou Manou's work, as well as to demonstrate her contribution to the development and emergence of modern dance in Greece. The data used were mostly collected from Rallou Manou's personal "Archive," but also from published reviews, interviews from her students and the personal experience of the…

Effective ultraviolet irradiance measurements from artificial tanning devices in Greece.

PubMed

Petri, Aspasia; Karabetsos, Efthymios

2015-12-01

Artificial tanning remains very popular worldwide, despite the International Agency for Research on Cancer classification of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunbeds as 'carcinogenic to humans'. Greek Atomic Energy Commission has initiated a surveillance action of the artificial tanning devices in Greece in order to record the effective irradiance levels from the sunbeds and to inform and synchronise the domestic artificial tanning business sector with the requirements of the European Standard EN 60335-2-27:2010. In this direction, in situ measurements of UV emissions from sunbeds in solaria businesses all over Greece were performed from October 2013 until July 2014, with a radiometer and a portable single-monochromator spectrophotometer. Analysis of the measurements' results revealed that effective irradiance in ∼60 % of the measured sunbeds exceeded the 0.3 W m(-2) limit value set by EN 60335-2-27:2010 and only 20 % of the devices could be categorised as UV type 3. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

PM(10) episodes in Greece: Local sources versus long-range transport-observations and model simulations.

PubMed

Matthaios, Vasileios N; Triantafyllou, Athanasios G; Koutrakis, Petros

2017-01-01

Periods of abnormally high concentrations of atmospheric pollutants, defined as air pollution episodes, can cause adverse health effects. Southern European countries experience high particulate matter (PM) levels originating from local and distant sources. In this study, we investigated the occurrence and nature of extreme PM 10 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm) pollution episodes in Greece. We examined PM 10 concentration data from 18 monitoring stations located at five sites across the country: (1) an industrial area in northwestern Greece (Western Macedonia Lignite Area, WMLA), which includes sources such as lignite mining operations and lignite power plants that generate a high percentage of the energy in Greece; (2) the greater Athens area, the most populated area of the country; and (3) Thessaloniki, (4) Patra, and (5) Volos, three large cities in Greece. We defined extreme PM 10 pollution episodes (EEs) as days during which PM 10 concentrations at all five sites exceeded the European Union (EU) 24-hr PM 10 standards. For each EE, we identified the corresponding prevailing synoptic and local meteorological conditions, including wind surface data, for the period from January 2009 through December 2011. We also analyzed data from remote sensing and model simulations. We recorded 14 EEs that occurred over 49 days and could be grouped into two categories: (1) Local Source Impact (LSI; 26 days, 53%) and (2) African Dust Impact (ADI; 23 days, 47%). Our analysis suggested that the contribution of local sources to ADI EEs was relatively small. LSI EEs were observed only in the cold season, whereas ADI EEs occurred throughout the year, with a higher frequency during the cold season. The EEs with the highest intensity were recorded during African dust intrusions. ADI episodes were found to contribute more than local sources in Greece, with ADI and LSI fraction contribution ranging from 1.1 to 3.10. The EE contribution during ADI fluctuated from 41 to 83 �

Discharge experiences of speech-language pathologists working in Cyprus and Greece.

PubMed

Kambanaros, Maria

2010-08-01

Post-termination relationships are complex because the client may need additional services and it may be difficult to determine when the speech-language pathologist-client relationship is truly terminated. In my contribution to this scientific forum, discharge experiences from speech-language pathologists working in Cyprus and Greece will be explored in search of commonalities and differences in the way in which pathologists end therapy from different cultural perspectives. Within this context the personal impact on speech-language pathologists of the discharge process will be highlighted. Inherent in this process is how speech-language pathologists learn to hold their feelings, anxieties and reactions when communicating discharge to clients. Overall speech-language pathologists working in Cyprus and Greece experience similar emotional responses to positive and negative therapy endings as speech-language pathologists working in Australia. The major difference is that Cypriot and Greek therapists face serious limitations in moving their clients on after therapy has ended.

Sleep habits of students attending elementary schools, and junior and senior high schools in Akita prefecture.

PubMed

Takemura, Takaubu; Funaki, Kensaku; Kanbayashi, Takashi; Kawamoto, Kentaro; Tsutsui, Kou; Saito, Yasushi; Aizawa, Rika; Inomata, Shoko; Shimizu, Tetsuo

2002-06-01

It is widely accepted that students in Japan sleep fewer hours than what they actually need. However, epidemiological data on sleep habits among students are scarce. The sleep habits and related problems among 1650 students in Akita prefecture were studied. The results revealed that schoolchildren attending elementary schools seemed to sleep for a sufficient number of hours, whereas students attending junior or senior high schools were not sleeping enough. In particular, approximately half of the students attending senior high schools answered that they slept 6 h or less on weekdays and nodded off during classes more than twice a week.

Re-emergence of animal rabies in northern Greece and subsequent human exposure, October 2012 - March 2013.

PubMed

Tsiodras, S; Dougas, G; Baka, A; Billinis, C; Doudounakis, S; Balaska, A; Georgakopoulou, T; Rigakos, G; Kontos, V; Tasioudi, K E; Tzani, M; Tsarouxa, P; Iliadou, P; Mangana-Vougiouka, O; Iliopoulos, D; Sapounas, S; Efstathiou, P; Tsakris, A; Hadjichristodoulou, C; Kremastinou, J

2013-05-02

Greece has been rabies-free since 1987 with no human cases since 1970. During 2012 to 2013, rabies has re-emerged in wild and domestic animals in northern Greece. By end March 2013, rabies was diagnosed in 17 animals including 14 red foxes, two shepherd dogs and one cat; 104 subsequent human exposures required post-exposure prophylaxis according to the World Health Organization criteria. Human exposures occurred within 50 km radius of a confirmed rabies case in a wild or domestic animal, and most frequently stray dogs were involved.

Literacy in Ancient Greece: The Evidence from History and Archaeology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollis, Karyn

In examining the nature of literacy in ancient Athens, this paper reviews the work of key modern scholars and their positions in the debates concerning the development of literacy in Greece, the oral culture preceeding this, and the technology that enabled it to occur. Following an introduction surveying the viewpoints of Rhys Carpenter, L. H.…

Mutual relationship between mathematics and astronomy in the ancient Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obradovic, S.

2006-05-01

In the paper we consider the foundations of mathematics in the ancient Greece as a deductive system, especially the Euclidean geometry. We investigate the concepts of continuum and discreteness in mathematics and nature. A special attention is given to the mathematics applied to the foundation of the Pythagorean concept of the universe and adoption of Aristotle's and Ptolemy's worldviews.

Detection and zoonotic potential of Trichinella spp. from free-range pig farming in Greece.

PubMed

Papatsiros, V G; Boutsini, S; Ntousi, D; Stougiou, D; Mintza, D; Bisias, A

2012-06-01

Trichinellosis is a serious parasitic zoonosis, which is widely distributed around the world. Pork meat is still the predominant source of outbreaks of human trichinellosis in many countries. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of Trichinella spp. as an important risk factor on the free-range pig farming sector in Greece. In 2009, during routine testing for the detection of Trichinella larvae at slaughterhouses and the National Reference Laboratory for Parasites (NRL), a total of 826,426 pigs were tested with the magnetic stirrer method for Trichinella spp. at slaughterhouses, including 2,892 samples from free-range pigs. Two positive samples were detected: one positive for Trichinella britovi and one positive for Trichinella spp. (unspecified) in the samples from wild farmed free-range pigs. It is alarming that one of these cases was connected with clinical signs of trichinellosis in five persons of the same family in northeastern Greece, who consumed undercooked pork meat from a free-range pig farm. During 2010, a total number of 1,295,034 pigs were tested with same method, including 4,159 samples from free-range pig farms. Five positive samples for Trichinella spp. (unspecified) were detected from 4,159 free-range pigs tested by the Greek NRL. Moreover, 363 serum samples from free-range pigs were serologically tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moreover, 363 serum samples from farmed free-range pigs were serologically tested with ELISA, and 15 samples were found positive. Finally, the present study is the first report of detection of T. britovi in Greece. In conclusion, based on the results of the present study, Trichinella spp. is a high-risk factor for the free-range pig farming in Greece.

Aquatic dance flies (Diptera, Empididae, Clinocerinae and Hemerodromiinae) of Greece: species richness, distribution and description of five new species.

PubMed

Ivković, Marija; Ćevid, Josipa; Horvat, Bogdan; Sinclair, Bradley J

2017-01-01

All records of aquatic dance flies (37 species in subfamily Clinocerinae and 10 species in subfamily Hemerodromiinae) from the territory of Greece are summarized, including previously unpublished data and data on five newly described species ( Chelifera horvati Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n. , Wiedemannia iphigeniae Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n. , W. ljerkae Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n. , W. nebulosa Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n. and W. pseudoberthelemyi Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n. ). The new species are described and illustrated, the male terminalia of Clinocera megalatlantica (Vaillant) are illustrated and the distributions of all species within Greece are listed. The aquatic Empididae fauna of Greece consists of 47 species, with the following described species reported for the first time: Chelifera angusta Collin, Hemerodromia melangyna Collin, Clinocera megalatlantica , Kowarzia plectrum (Mik), Phaeobalia dimidiata (Loew), W. (Chamaedipsia) beckeri (Mik), W. (Philolutra) angelieri Vaillant and W. (P.) chvali Joost. A key to species of aquatic Empididae of Greece is provided for the first time. Information related to the European Ecoregions in which species were found is given. Compared to the other studied countries in the Balkans, the Greek species assemblage is most similar to that of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The first report of a 5-year period cancer registry in Greece (2009-2013): a pathology-based cancer registry.

PubMed

Patsea, Eleni; Kaklamanis, Loukas; Batistatou, Anna

2018-04-01

Cancer registries are essential in health care, since they allow more accurate planning of necessary health services and evaluation of programs for cancer prevention and control. The Hellenic Society of Pathology (HSP) having recognized the lack of such information in Greece has undertaken the task of a 5-year pathology-based cancer registry in Greece (2009-2013). In this study, > 95% of all pathology laboratories in the national health system hospitals and 100% of pathology laboratories in private hospitals, as well as > 80% of private pathology laboratories have contributed their data. The most common cancer types overall were as follows: breast cancer (18.26%), colorectal cancer (15.49%), prostate cancer (13.49%), and lung cancer (10.24% of all registered cancers). In men, the most common neoplasms were as follows: prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and gastric cancer. In women, the most common neoplasms were as follows: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, thyroid cancer, and lung cancer. The data on cancer burden in Greece, presented herein, fill the void of cancer information in Greece that affects health care not only nationally but Europe-wise.

Imported Chikungunya fever case in Greece in June 2014 and public health response

PubMed Central

Pervanidou, Danai; Papadopoulou, Elpida; Kavatha, Dimitra; Baka, Agoritsa; Koliopoulos, George; Badieritakis, Evangelos; Michaelakis, Antonios; Gavana, Elpida; Patsoula, Eleni; Tsimpos, Ioannis; Gioksari, Thalia; Kyriazopoulou, Evdoxia; Vakali, Annita; Pavli, Androula; Maltezou, Helena C.; Georgakopoulou, Theano; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Kremastinou, Jenny; Papa, Anna

2016-01-01

We report about the first imported case of Chikungunya fever in Greece in a Greek traveler returning from the Dominican Republic and the associated public health response. We investigated the case and performed focused epidemiological and entomological investigation in all areas the patient visited during the infectious period, to identify the targeted interventions needed. Entomological investigation revealed the occurrence of the competent vector Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in the environment surrounding the hospital where the patient was admitted and in her workplace. All captured mosquitoes tested negative for Chikungunya virus. We further conducted clinical and laboratory examination of the patient’s co-travelers, gave advice on appropriate personal preventive measures against mosquito bites to the patient and co-travelers and on vector control, and raised awareness among health professionals throughout Greece. The risk of introduction and local transmission of Chikungunya and other arboviruses in Greece and other European countries is present, as the competent vector exists in many parts of Europe. Public health professionals, travel medicine specialists and clinicians should maintain awareness regarding this possibility of importation of arbovirus cases in order to provide the appropriate advice, seek the prompt diagnosis, and implement appropriate interventions. Mobilization of various stakeholders will lead to enhanced epidemiological and entomological surveillance that will allow for improved risk assessment in each area. PMID:27159571

Descriptive analysis of malaria prophylaxis for travellers from Greece visiting malaria-endemic countries.

PubMed

Pavli, Androula; Smeti, Paraskevi; Spilioti, Athina; Vakali, Annita; Katerelos, Panagiotis; Maltezou, Helena C

2011-11-01

International travel is changing the epidemiology of imported malaria. Our aim was to study malaria prophylaxis administered to travellers from Greece. The study was conducted during 2008-2009. Data were collected using a standardized form. A total of 2337 travellers were studied; prophylaxis was recommended to 60.2% of them. Of the 2337 travellers, 32.6% travelled to sub-Saharan Africa, 25.5% to South America, 11.8% to Indian subcontinent, 11.7% to Middle East, and 4.4% to Southeast Asia; prophylaxis was recommended to 77.4%, 64%, 80.6%, 4.8% and 73.5% of them, respectively. According to the purpose of travel, prophylaxis was recommended to 85.4% of those travelling for work, 75.2% of those visiting friends and relatives, and 62% of those travelling for recreation. Prophylaxis advised was provided to 68.5%, 66.2%, 61.5%, and 18.9% to those staying at a residence of local people, camping, hotels, and cruise ships, respectively. Regarding long-term travellers, malaria prophylaxis was recommended to 42.6%. Recommendation of malaria prophylaxis was significantly statistically in association with destination countries, purpose of travel, type of residence in endemic areas There is a need to improve recommendations for malaria prophylaxis for travellers from Greece, and to increase awareness and education of professionals providing travel health services in Greece. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-burden epidemics in Greece in the era of economic crisis. Early signs of a public health tragedy.

PubMed

Bonovas, S; Nikolopoulos, G

2012-09-01

Economic hardships have unleashed epidemics of infectious diseases in many countries in the past. In the era of the current financial crisis in Greece, it is interesting to assess the preliminary evidence concerning outbreaks of infectious diseases. Description and evaluation of published surveillance data. Greece has been suffering a high burden of different large-scale epidemics during the last three years. These include the increased mortality of influenza during the pandemic and the first post-pandemic seasons, the emergence and spread of West Nile virus, the appearance of clusters of non-imported malaria and the outbreak of Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection among people who inject drugs. The economic turmoil in Greece seems to impact the infectious disease dynamics. It is essential to safeguard and even bolster budgetary allocations to the public health sector, in order to alleviate the effects of the economic downturn.

Awareness and Current Use of Electronic Cigarettes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and Greece: Findings From 2011-2013 Global Adult Tobacco Surveys.

PubMed

Palipudi, Krishna Mohan; Mbulo, Lazarous; Morton, Jeremy; Mbulo, Lazarous; Bunnell, Rebecca; Blutcher-Nelson, Glenda; Kosen, Soewarta; Tee, Guat Hiong; Abdalla, Amani Mohamed Elkhatim; Mutawa, Kholood Ateeq Al; Barbouni, Anastasia; Antoniadou, Eleni; Fouad, Heba; Khoury, Rula N; Rarick, James; Sinha, Dhirendra N; Asma, Samira

2016-04-01

Increases in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) awareness and current use have been documented in high income countries but less is known about middle and low income countries. Nationally representative household survey data from the first four Global Adult Tobacco Surveys to assess e-cigarettes were analyzed, including Indonesia (2011), Malaysia (2011), Qatar (2013), and Greece (2013). Correlates of e-cigarette awareness and current use were calculated. Sample sizes for Greece and Qatar allowed for further analysis of e-cigarette users. Awareness of e-cigarettes was 10.9% in Indonesia, 21.0% in Malaysia, 49.0% in Qatar, and 88.5% in Greece. In all four countries, awareness was higher among male, younger, more educated, and wealthier respondents. Current e-cigarette use among those aware of e-cigarettes was 3.9% in Malaysia, 2.5% in Indonesia, 2.2% in Greece and 1.8% in Qatar. Across these four countries, an estimated 818 500 people are currently using e-cigarettes. Among current e-cigarette users, 64.4% in Greece and 84.1% in Qatar also smoked cigarettes, and, 10.6% in Greece and 6.0% in Qatar were never-smokers. E-cigarette awareness and use was evident in all four countries. Ongoing surveillance and monitoring of awareness and use of e-cigarettes in these and other countries could help inform tobacco control policies and public health interventions. Future surveillance should monitor use of e-cigarettes among current smokers and uptake among never-smokers and relapsing former smokers. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

On the Telephone Again! Differences in Telephone Behaviour: England versus Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sifianou, Maria

1989-01-01

Investigation and comparison of telephone behavior, and the attitudes and values attached to telephone usage in England and Greece, from the perspective of an interaction model. Results revealed cultural differences in responses to making telephone calls, verifying numbers and speakers, and apologies for wrong numbers or disturbing calls.…

Dance Students' Perceptions of Tertiary Education in England and in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsompanaki, Eleni; Benn, Tansin

2011-01-01

The comparative study examined dance students' views of their dance education and training in tertiary education (further and higher) and their perceptions about the opportunities offered in the their courses available in England (higher education) and in Greece (further education). The aim was to explore similarities and differences between…

[Matrimonial radius and anthropologic differentiation of the population of the Peloponnese, Greece].

PubMed

Pitsios, T K

1983-09-01

Mean matrimonial radius (MMR) and mean breeding radius (MBR) were studied in the population of the Peloponnese (Greece). The historical and geographical causes of these important genetical variables are discussed considering, too, their effects on the anthropological differentiation of this population.

Adverse effect of the financial crisis in Greece on perinatal factors.

PubMed

Zografaki, Irini; Papamichail, Dimitris; Panagiotopoulos, Takis

2018-05-16

Starting in 2008 recession affected many European countries and especially Greece. Previous studies have reported increases in low birth weight, preterm birth and stillbirth rates in Greece during early crisis. In our study we used data on births from 1980 to 2014 that allowed us to distinguish recent changes, which could possibly be attributed to the financial crisis, from long term trends, and controlled for maternal age and country of origin as potential confounders. Our study covered a longer period (up to 2014) than what has been studied before and looked separately at the effect of early and established crisis. We used national vital statistics data from 1980 to 2014. We performed age standardization and calculated age standardized rates and standardized rate ratios (SRRs) for perinatal factors for three time periods (pre-crisis, early crisis and established crisis) for Greek and non-Greek women. We found an increase in low birth weight deliveries independent of maternal age and origin and an increased stillbirth rate in Greek women younger than 25 in early (RR = 1.42 95%CI: 1.12-1.80) and established crisis periods (RR = 1.36 95%CI: 1.07-1.72) compared with pre-crisis. Non-Greek women have also been affected, with their advantage regarding birth outcomes becoming less profound in the established crisis period (low birth weight: established crisis SRR = 0.84 95%CI: 0.82-0.87, pre-crisis SRR = 0.79 95% CI: 0.76- 0.81). The financial crisis has possibly adversely affected perinatal factors in Greece. Our results highlight the need of appropriate public health interventions and family support policies, especially for younger people, unemployed and immigrants.

[The health of migrants at the Greece-Macedonia border].

PubMed

Moutamalle, Raphaël

2016-01-01

At the border between Greece and Macedonia, a transit camp for refugees is turning into a permanent camp. The management of the health emergency is assured by international teams from several humanitarian organisations, including the French Red Cross. The organisation of the care team, the cultural differences and the lack of resources are just some of the factors to be considered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Awareness and Current Use of Electronic Cigarettes in Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and Greece: Findings From 2011–2013 Global Adult Tobacco Surveys

PubMed Central

Palipudi, Krishna Mohan; Mbulo, Lazarous; Morton, Jeremy; Mbulo, Lazarous; Bunnell, Rebecca; Blutcher-Nelson, Glenda; Kosen, Soewarta; Tee, Guat Hiong; Abdalla, Amani Mohamed Elkhatim; Al Mutawa, Kholood Ateeq; Barbouni, Anastasia; Antoniadou, Eleni; Fouad, Heba; Khoury, Rula N.; Rarick, James; Sinha, Dhirendra N.; Asma, Samira

2016-01-01

Introduction Increases in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) awareness and current use have been documented in high income countries but less is known about middle and low income countries. Methods Nationally representative household survey data from the first four Global Adult Tobacco Surveys to assess e-cigarettes were analyzed, including Indonesia (2011), Malaysia (2011), Qatar (2013), and Greece (2013). Correlates of e-cigarette awareness and current use were calculated. Sample sizes for Greece and Qatar allowed for further analysis of e-cigarette users. Results Awareness of e-cigarettes was 10.9% in Indonesia, 21.0% in Malaysia, 49.0% in Qatar, and 88.5% in Greece. In all four countries, awareness was higher among male, younger, more educated, and wealthier respondents. Current e-cigarette use among those aware of e-cigarettes was 3.9% in Malaysia, 2.5% in Indonesia, 2.2% in Greece and 1.8% in Qatar. Across these four countries, an estimated 818 500 people are currently using e-cigarettes. Among current e-cigarette users, 64.4% in Greece and 84.1% in Qatar also smoked cigarettes, and, 10.6% in Greece and 6.0% in Qatar were never-smokers. Conclusions E-cigarette awareness and use was evident in all four countries. Ongoing surveillance and monitoring of awareness and use of e-cigarettes in these and other countries could help inform tobacco control policies and public health interventions. Future surveillance should monitor use of e-cigarettes among current smokers and uptake among never-smokers and relapsing former smokers. PMID:25895951

Resurgence of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera in northern Greece associated with insecticide resistance.

PubMed

Mironidis, George K; Kapantaidaki, Despina; Bentila, Maria; Morou, Evangelia; Savopoulou-Soultani, M; Vontas, John

2013-08-01

Helicoverpa armigera has been controlled effectively with chemical insecticides in the major cotton crop production areas of northern Greece for many years. However, a resurgence of the pest was observed in 2010, which significantly affected crop production. During a 4-year survey (2007-2010), we examined the insecticide resistance status of H. armigera populations from two major and representative cotton production areas in northern Greece against seven insecticides (chlorpyrifos, diazinon, methomyl, alpha-cypermethrin, cypermethrin, gamma-cyhalothrin and endosulfan). Full dose-response bioassays on third instar larvae were performed by topical application. Lethal doses at 50% were estimated by probit analysis and resistance factors (RF) were calculated, compared to a susceptible laboratory reference strain. Resistance levels were relatively moderate until 2009, with resistance ratios below 10-fold for organophosphates and carbamates and up to 16-fold for the pyrethroid alpha-cypermethrin. However, resistance rose to 46- and 81-fold for chlorpyrifos and alpha-cypermethrin, respectively in 2010, when the resurgence of the pest was observed. None of the known pyrethroid resistance mutations were found in the pyrethroid-resistant insects. The possible association between resistance and H. armigera resurgence in Greece is discussed. © 2012 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Spatio-temporal activity of lightnings over Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nastos, P. T.; Matsangouras, I. T.; Chronis, T. G.

2012-04-01

Extreme precipitation events are always associated with convective weather conditions driving to intense lightning activity: Cloud to Ground (CG), Ground to Cloud (GC) and Cloud to Cloud (CC). Thus, the study of lightnings, which typically occur during thunderstorms, gives evidence of the spatio-temporal variability of intense precipitation. Lightning is a natural phenomenon in the atmosphere, being a major cause of storm related with deaths and main trigger of forest fires during dry season. Lightning affects the many electrochemical systems of the body causing nerve damage, memory loss, personality change, and emotional problems. Besides, among the various nitrogen oxides sources, the contribution from lightning likely represents the largest uncertainty. An operational lightning detection network (LDN) has been established since 2007 by HNMS, consisting of eight time-of-arrival sensors (TOA), spatially distributed across Greek territory. In this study, the spatial and temporal variability of recorded lightnings (CG, GC and CC) are analyzed over Greece, during the period from January 14, 2008 to December 31, 2009, for the first time. The data for retrieving the location and time-of-occurrence of lightning were acquired from Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS). In addition to the analysis of spatio-temporal activity over Greece, the HNMS-LDN characteristics are also presented. The results of the performed analysis reveal the specific geographical sub-regions associated with lightnings incidence. Lightning activity occurs mainly during the autumn season, followed by summer and spring. Higher frequencies of flashes appear over Ionian and Aegean Sea than over land during winter period against continental mountainous regions during summer period.

Effects in the network topology due to node aggregation: Empirical evidence from the domestic maritime transportation in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsiotas, Dimitrios; Polyzos, Serafeim

2018-02-01

This article studies the topological consistency of spatial networks due to node aggregation, examining the changes captured between different network representations that result from nodes' grouping and they refer to the same socioeconomic system. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate what kind of topological information remains unalterable due to node aggregation and, further, to develop a framework for linking the data of an empirical network with data of its socioeconomic environment, when the latter are available for hierarchically higher levels of aggregation, in an effort to promote the interdisciplinary research in the field of complex network analysis. The research question is empirically tested on topological and socioeconomic data extracted from the Greek Maritime Network (GMN) that is modeled as a non-directed multilayer (bilayer) graph consisting of a port-layer, where nodes represent ports, and a prefecture-layer, where nodes represent coastal and insular prefectural groups of ports. The analysis highlights that the connectivity (degree) of the GMN is the most consistent aspect of this multilayer network, which preserves both the topological and the socioeconomic information through node aggregation. In terms of spatial analysis and regional science, such effects illustrate the effectiveness of the prefectural administrative division for the functionality of the Greek maritime transportation system. Overall, this approach proposes a methodological framework that can enjoy further applications about the grouping effects induced on the network topology, providing physical, technical, socioeconomic, strategic or political insights.

The experiences of families of critically ill patients in Greece: a social constructionist grounded theory study.

PubMed

Plakas, Sotirios; Cant, Bob; Taket, Ann

2009-02-01

The experiences of patients' families in intensive care units (ICUs) are of international concern. In Greece however, adequate attention has not been paid to this issue. To explore the experiences of critical care patients' families in Greece. The intensive care units of 3 general district hospitals in the area of Athens, Greece. The social constructionist version of grounded theory was used. In-depth interviews with 25 relatives of critically ill patients were carried out, and participant and non-participant observation was used to cross-validate the data obtained. Seven major categories were identified, with 32 components across all categories. The experiences of families revolved around the two core categories of "Intense Emotions" and "Vigilant Attendance". The study conceptualised two new categories in this field, "Religiosity" and "Loss of Intimacy" and enhanced the category "Vigilant Attendance". Three further categories were identified, namely "Caring", "Dignity" and "Information". The various interrelationships between the categories were also examined. The study has examined the experience of Greek patients' families from a qualitative perspective and suggests that major changes need to be made in terms of management and support.

Temporary agency work, migration and the crisis in Greece: labour market segmentation intensified.

PubMed

Maroukis, Thanos

2016-05-01

This article focuses on the under-researched temporary agency employment in Greece. It shows that the development of the temporary employment agency sector has gone hand in hand with the flow of undocumented and exploitable migrant labour in Greece over the past 25 years, reflecting the segmentation of the Greek labour market along ethnic lines. Using empirical research evidence on the operation of temporary employment agencies in the Greek hospitality and health care sectors, the article highlights the precarious or even illicit nature of agency employment in a context in which labour outsourcing and flexible employment are promoted by policy-makers. Last but not least, it suggests that the segmented landscape of the Greek labour market has become more complex during the economic crisis, with more and more Greeks drawn to agency-mediated precarious employment.

Infectivity of HBV DNA positive donations identified in look-back studies in Hyogo-Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Bouike, Y; Imoto, S; Mabuchi, O; Kokubunji, A; Kai, S; Okada, M; Taniguchi, R; Momose, S; Uchida, S; Nishio, H

2011-04-01

To clarify transfusion incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected blood negative for mini pool-nucleic acid amplification testing (MP-NAT). Japanese Red Cross (JRC) blood centres screen donated blood to avoid contamination with HBV. However, a low copy number of HBV may be overlooked. In Hyogo-Prefecture, JRC blood centres screened 787 695 donations for HBV from April 2005 to March 2009. Of these, 685 844 were donations from the repeat donors. To detect the donors with HBV, serological tests, MP-NAT and/or individual donation (ID)-NAT were performed. To detect the recipients with transfusion-transmitted HBV infection (TTHBI), serological analysis and/or ID-NAT were performed. In this study, 265 of the 685 844 repeat donations were serologically and/or MP-NAT positive for HBV. Their repository samples from the previous donation were examined in a look-back study; 13 of the 265 repository samples proved ID-NAT positive. Twelve recipients were transfused with HBV-infected blood components derived from 10 of the 13 HBV-infected donors. Only 1 of the 12 recipients was identified as TTHBI case. Seven of the 12 recipients escaped from our follow-up study and 4 recipients were negative for HBV during the observation period. On the basis of the look-back study among the repeat donors in Hyogo-Prefecture, Japan, donations with HBV-infected blood negative for MP-NAT occurred with a frequency of 13 in 685 844 donations (∼1/53 000 donations). However, more than half of the recipients transfused with HBV-infected blood negative for MP-NAT could not be followed up. It is necessary to establish a more cautious follow-up system. © 2010 The Authors. Transfusion Medicine © 2010 British Blood Transfusion Society.

[Study on malnutrition status among Wa ethnicity children and adolescents in Lingcang prefecture, Yunnan province].

PubMed

Yang, Yunjuan; Chang, Litao; Chen, Lu; Wei, Xijing

2015-12-01

To analyze the malnutrition status among children and adolescents of Wa ethnicity in Lincang prefecture, Yunnan province from 2005 to 2014, and to provide evidence for the improvement of the situation. From 2005 to 2014, children and adolescents aged 7 to 18, from 19 primary and secondary schools in Cangyuan county of Lincang prefecture, Yunnan province, were chosen, using the multistage-stratified-random cluster sampling method, to receive physic examination. WHO-2006 standard was used. Situation related to the rate of growth retardation and malnutrition among students was analyzed, from 2005 to 2014. Data was from the National Student Physical Health Research Project. From 2000 to 2014, trends on nutrition development among these students were also studied. The rates related to growth retardation among 7-18 years-old Wa boys in 2005, 2010 and 2014 were 45.61%, 52.36% and 35.85%, with the rates of thinness as 1.44%, 0.76% and 1.36% , respectively. Rates on malnutrition were 52.35% , 56.01% and 41.13% , respectively. Rates related to growth retardation among 7-18 years-old Wa girls were 42.03%, 47.41% and 33.06%, respectively, with rates of thinness as 0.91%, 0.68% and 0.83%, respectively. The rates on malnutrition were 46.13%, 49.77% and 35.56%, respectively. From year 2005 to 2014, spurt on height growth of boys and girls were among the 13-14 years-old and 9-10 years-old, respectively. Girls were 4 years earlier, entering the sudden increase in the peak age than boys. Sex difference on height among the 18 years-old Wa youngsters were 11.99, 9.34 and 11.38 cm in 2005, 2010 and 2014, respectively. Malnutrition status of retardation on growth among Wa children and adolescents remained quite serious.

Distributional effects of environmental policies in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lekakis, Joseph N.

1990-07-01

Environmental protection policies generate an equity question concerning the fair allocation of environmental benefits and costs. This paper presents evidence from Greece during the 1980s. The findings reveal that Greek environmental policies, in the form of government self-regulatory programs, are mostly regressive in nature. At the regional level these programs combine all forms of vertical equity. Since the public sector finances the majority of related expenditures out of taxes, the regressive elements of environmental policies have been reinforced by discretionary fiscal measures and tax evasion, accompanied by inflation, which have distorted the country's progressive tax system.

Evidence of Schmallenberg virus circulation in ruminants in Greece.

PubMed

Chaintoutis, Serafeim C; Kiossis, Evangelos; Giadinis, Nektarios D; Brozos, Christos N; Sailleau, Corinne; Viarouge, Cyril; Bréard, Emmanuel; Papanastassopoulou, Maria; Zientara, Stéphan; Papadopoulos, Orestis; Dovas, Chrysostomos I

2014-01-01

During March 2013, we investigated the presence and the levels of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) circulation in three dairy cow herds and three sheep flocks in Central Macedonia, Greece. In two cow herds, a high number of abortions had been observed during the winter. Six bulk-tank milk samples and 147 individual sera were screened for SBV-specific antibodies by ELISA. Positive reactions were obtained from 5 out of 6 bulk-tank milk samples, 58 out of 90 sera from the 3 cow herds, and 2 sera from 2 of the 3 sheep flocks. Twenty-two ELISA-positive sera were tested by serum neutralization test (SNT). SNT confirmed the presence of neutralizing antibodies against SBV in all samples tested, with titers ranging between 1:32 and ≥1:256. No neutralizing antibodies against Akabane virus (AKAV) or Shamonda virus (SHAV) were detected, indicating that neutralizing antibodies against SBV do not cross react with AKAV or SHAV in SNT. ELISA testing of bulk-tank milk samples proved to be convenient and reliable. None of the tested sera was found positive for SBV by real-time RT-PCR, indicating that the sampling was conducted past the viremia stage. This is the first report of SBV circulation in Greece.

A national scale flood hazard mapping methodology: The case of Greece - Protection and adaptation policy approaches.

PubMed

Kourgialas, Nektarios N; Karatzas, George P

2017-12-01

The present work introduces a national scale flood hazard assessment methodology, using multi-criteria analysis and artificial neural networks (ANNs) techniques in a GIS environment. The proposed methodology was applied in Greece, where flash floods are a relatively frequent phenomenon and it has become more intense over the last decades, causing significant damages in rural and urban sectors. In order the most prone flooding areas to be identified, seven factor-maps (that are directly related to flood generation) were combined in a GIS environment. These factor-maps are: a) the Flow accumulation (F), b) the Land use (L), c) the Altitude (A), b) the Slope (S), e) the soil Erodibility (E), f) the Rainfall intensity (R), and g) the available water Capacity (C). The name to the proposed method is "FLASERC". The flood hazard for each one of these factors is classified into five categories: Very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. The above factors are combined and processed using the appropriate ANN algorithm tool. For the ANN training process spatial distribution of historical flooded points in Greece within the five different flood hazard categories of the aforementioned seven factor-maps were combined. In this way, the overall flood hazard map for Greece was determined. The final results are verified using additional historical flood events that have occurred in Greece over the last 100years. In addition, an overview of flood protection measures and adaptation policy approaches were proposed for agricultural and urban areas located at very high flood hazard areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a road transport emission inventory for Greece and the Greater Athens Area: effects of important parameters.

PubMed

Fameli, K M; Assimakopoulos, V D

2015-02-01

Traffic is considered one of the major polluting sectors and as a consequence a significant cause for the measured exceedances of ambient air quality limit values mainly in urban areas. The Greater Athens Area (located in Attica), the most populated area in Greece, faces severe air pollution problems due to the combination of high road traffic emissions, complex topography and local meteorological conditions. Even though several efforts were made to construct traffic emission inventories for Greece and Attica, still there is not a spatially and temporally resolved one, based on data from relevant authorities and organisations. The present work aims to estimate road emissions in Greece and Attica based on the top down approach. The programme COPERT 4 was used to calculate the annual total emissions from the road transport sector for the period 2006-2010 and an emission inventory for Greece and Attica was developed with high spatial (6 × 6 km(2) for Greece and 2 × 2 km(2) for Attica) and temporal (1-hour) resolutions. The results revealed that about 40% of national CO₂, CO, VOC and NMVOC values and 30% of NOx and particles are emitted in Attica. The fuel consumption and the subsequent reduction of annual mileage driven in combination with the import of new engine anti-pollution technologies affected CO₂, CO, VOC and NMVOC emissions. The major part of CO (56.53%) and CO₂ (66.15%) emissions was due to passenger cars (2010), while heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) were connected with NOx, PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ emissions with 51.27%, 43.97% and 38.13% respectively (2010). The fleet composition, the penetration of diesel fuelled cars, the increase of urban average speed and the fleet renewal are among the most effective parameters towards the emission reduction strategies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of visiting nurse agencies with high home death rates: A prefecture-wide study in Japan.

PubMed

Kashiwagi, Masayo; Tamiya, Nanako; Murata, Masako

2015-08-01

The purpose of the present study was to identify characteristics of visiting nurse agencies (VNA) in Japan with high home death rates by a prefecture-wide survey. A cross-sectional study of visiting nurse agencies (n = 101) in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, was completed. Data included the basic characteristics of each VNA, the type of services provided, level of coordination with other service providers, total number of VNA patients who died per year and place of death and contractual relationship with home-care supporting clinics providing end-of-life care services in the home 24 h a day. The VNA characteristics were analyzed by logistic regression, using the home death rate per VNA as a dependent variable. A total 69 agencies, excluding those that did not report number of deaths (n = 14) and those without deaths during the year (n = 6), were analyzed. The median home death rate of the 69 VNA was 29.8%. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that higher home death rate was significantly associated with lack of attachment to a hospital, existence of a contractual relationship with home-care supporting clinics and existence of an interactive information exchange through telephone/face-to-face communication with attending physicians. In order to increase the home death rate of people using VNA, policymakers must consider establishing home-based service systems within the community that can provide home end-of-life care services 24 h a day, and support the interactive exchange of information between the visiting nurse and the attending physician. © 2014 The Authors. Geriatrics & Gerontology International published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Japanese Geriatrics Society.

Incubation as a form of psychotherapy in the care of patients in ancient and modern Greece.

PubMed

Papageorgiou, M G

1975-01-01

Incubation or temple sleep in sanctuaries of Aesculapius, Amphiaraos, Trophonios, etc., for the care of patients was practised even in the older times of ancient Greece and may be viewed as a form of psychotherapy and especially as 'dream-psychotherapy'. In Greek antiquity, as it is known, dreams were considered as a way of communication between gods and men. Survival of the custom of incubation exists even in our times in modern Greece, but are disappearing slowly. An attempt is made to find an explanation, if any, of those miraculous cures in accordance with the scientific thought of today.

Data on the scale insect (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) fauna of Greece, with description of two new species.

PubMed

Szita, Éva; Fetykó, Kinga Gabriela; Benedicty, Zsuzsanna Konczné; Kozár, Ferenc; Partsinevelos, Georgios; Milonas, Panagiotis; Kaydan, Mehmet Bora

2017-10-09

Surveys of the scale insect (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) fauna of Greece were carried out in 2013 and 2014. Altogether 93 scale insect species were collected, belonging to 11 families. Thirty-eight species (41%) proved to be new to the Greek fauna, including two species new to science (Anophococcus hellenicus Kaydan & Szita sp. n. (Acanthococcidae) and Iberococcus attikus Szita & Fetykó sp. n. (Pseudococcidae)), and two introduced invasive species (Phenacoccus graminicola Leonardi and Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana), both Pseudococcidae). The rest of the species seem to be native to the Greek fauna. The total number of scale insect species recorded from Greece is increased to 253.

Standardization of the Gordon Primary Measures of Music Audiation in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stamou, Lelouda; Schmidt, Charles P.; Humphreys, Jere T.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to standardize the Primary Measures of Music Audiation in Greece ( N = 1,188). Split-halves reliability was acceptable across grade levels (K through 3) for the Tonal and Rhythm subtests, but test-retest reliability was generally unacceptable, especially for the Rhythm subtest. Concurrent validity was mixed, with…

The Development of Vocational Education Policy in Greece: A Critical Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patiniotis, Nikitas; Stavroulakis, Dimitris

1997-01-01

Vocational education in Greece has been slow to develop due to a labor market favoring low-skilled labor and a culture encouraging university education. Lack of continuity in national policy and low state financing have resulted in a system unable to deal with such crucial issues as unemployment and new technologies. (SK)

Genetic polymorphisms, forensic efficiency and phylogenetic analysis of 15 autosomal STR loci in the Kazak population of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwestern China.

PubMed

Feng, Chunmei; Wang, Xin; Wang, Xiaolong; Yu, Hao; Zhang, Guohua

2018-03-01

We investigated the frequencies of 15 autosomal STR loci in the Kazak population of the Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture with the aim of expanding the available population information in human genetic databases and for forensic DNA analysis. Genetic polymorphisms of 15 autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci were analysed in 456 individuals of the Kazak population from Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, northwestern China. A total of 173 alleles at 15 autosomal STR loci were found; the allele frequencies ranged from 0.5022-0.0011. The combined power of discrimination and exclusion statistics for the 15 STR loci were 0.999 999 999 85 and 0.999 998 800 65, respectively. In addition, phylogenetic analysis involving the Ili Uygur population and other relevant populations was carried out. A neighbour-joining tree and multidimensional scaling plot were generated based on Nei's standard genetic distance. Results of the population comparison indicated that the Ili Uygur population was most closely related genetically to the Uygur populations from other regions in China. These findings are consistent with the historical and geographic backgrounds of these populations.

Health literacy among university students in Greece: determinants and association with self-perceived health, health behaviours and health risks

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Health literacy is widely considered as a key determinant of health and a priority in the public health policy agenda. Low health literacy has been associated with poorer health states, broader inequalities and higher health systems’ costs. In the present study we bring into focus the functional health literacy among university students in Greece, researching and assessing mainly their ability to apply basic knowledge in a health context. Methods The study was carried out during the period 15–30 April 2013, among a random sample of 1,526 students of 14 Higher Tertiary Public universities and Technological Educational Institutes in Greece. The objective of the study was to assess the functional health literacy among university students in Greece, adopting the short four-item comprehension test of Bostock and Steptoe. Summary statistics, correlations and regressions were used to assess the determinants of health literacy and the association with self-perceived health, health behaviours and health risks. Results Economic factors, such as family income, demographic factors, such as gender, and health behaviours and risks, namely consumption of alcohol, smoking and physical workout are associated with the level of health literacy and health status of the participant. While the results of the study are consistent with previous work in this area, several findings worth further research. Conclusions Though, health promotion interventions in Greece include health literacy as one of the basic pillars of the public health policy agenda, it is clear, that health literacy needs to become a key policy issue in Greece, mainly focusing in young ages, where healthy (or unhealthy) behaviours are established affecting the health through the life span. PMID:24987522

Health literacy among university students in Greece: determinants and association with self-perceived health, health behaviours and health risks.

PubMed

Vozikis, Athanassios; Drivas, Kyriakos; Milioris, Kostantinos

2014-01-01

Health literacy is widely considered as a key determinant of health and a priority in the public health policy agenda. Low health literacy has been associated with poorer health states, broader inequalities and higher health systems' costs. In the present study we bring into focus the functional health literacy among university students in Greece, researching and assessing mainly their ability to apply basic knowledge in a health context. The study was carried out during the period 15-30 April 2013, among a random sample of 1,526 students of 14 Higher Tertiary Public universities and Technological Educational Institutes in Greece. The objective of the study was to assess the functional health literacy among university students in Greece, adopting the short four-item comprehension test of Bostock and Steptoe. Summary statistics, correlations and regressions were used to assess the determinants of health literacy and the association with self-perceived health, health behaviours and health risks. Economic factors, such as family income, demographic factors, such as gender, and health behaviours and risks, namely consumption of alcohol, smoking and physical workout are associated with the level of health literacy and health status of the participant. While the results of the study are consistent with previous work in this area, several findings worth further research. Though, health promotion interventions in Greece include health literacy as one of the basic pillars of the public health policy agenda, it is clear, that health literacy needs to become a key policy issue in Greece, mainly focusing in young ages, where healthy (or unhealthy) behaviours are established affecting the health through the life span.

An Assessment of the Results of European Parliament Elections in Greece and European Union Under the Shadow of Economic Crisis.

PubMed

Fanourgiakis, John; Kanoupakis, Emmanuel

2016-10-01

On January 1, 1981, Greece became the tenth member of the European Economic Community and, 20 years later, on January 1, 2001, joined the euro area. In May of 2010 and February of 2012, Greece signed the first and the second economic adjustment programs and adopted austerity policies throughout the public sector in order to avoid the economic collapse, affecting residents' income and health status. We studied the questionnaires of polls conducted in Greece before the elections of the European Parliament (May 25, 2014) and the "Europeans 2014" Eurobarometer's survey in March of 2014. The responses of Greek voters from the Greek polls were alarming, pointing out their declining personal economic situation and Greece's national economic situation, with a sense that the country was heading in the wrong direction, declaring themselves unsatisfied and insecure. The responses of Greek voters from the "Europeans 2014" survey were even more alarming. Health was the first priority for the voters. As the Greek polls and the Eurobarometer's survey forecasted, but more significantly as the results of the Euro-elections showed, Greek voters preferred to put their hopes in something new. © The Author(s) 2016.

The epidemiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a study in Greece.

PubMed

Signorello, L B; Tzonou, A; Lagiou, P; Samoli, E; Zavitsanos, X; Trichopoulos, D

1999-08-01

To assess the epidemiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in a case-control study in greater Athens, Greece. The study comprised 184 patients surgically treated for BPH within one year of its diagnosis (cases) and 246 patients with no symptoms of BPH who were treated in the same hospitals for minor diseases or conditions (controls). All cases and controls were permanent residents of the greater Athens area, Greece. The data were assessed using unconditional logistic regression. After controlling for age and education, cases and controls had similar distributions for height, body mass index, sibship size and birth order in the parental family, marital status, number of offspring and a series of previous medical diagnoses or surgical operations. The sole exception was surgery for haemorrhoids, that appeared to be related to the incidence of BPH, possibly by chance. There was no evidence that vertex baldness, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption or coffee drinking increased the risk for BPH. Men who had spent most of their lives in a rural rather than an urban environment appeared to be at reduced risk for BPH. The lifestyle factors assessed here have no major effect on the aetiology of BPH.

Aquatic dance flies (Diptera, Empididae, Clinocerinae and Hemerodromiinae) of Greece: species richness, distribution and description of five new species

PubMed Central

Ivković, Marija; Ćevid, Josipa; Horvat, Bogdan; Sinclair, Bradley J.

2017-01-01

Abstract All records of aquatic dance flies (37 species in subfamily Clinocerinae and 10 species in subfamily Hemerodromiinae) from the territory of Greece are summarized, including previously unpublished data and data on five newly described species (Chelifera horvati Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n., Wiedemannia iphigeniae Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n., W. ljerkae Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n., W. nebulosa Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n. and W. pseudoberthelemyi Ivković & Sinclair, sp. n.). The new species are described and illustrated, the male terminalia of Clinocera megalatlantica (Vaillant) are illustrated and the distributions of all species within Greece are listed. The aquatic Empididae fauna of Greece consists of 47 species, with the following described species reported for the first time: Chelifera angusta Collin, Hemerodromia melangyna Collin, Clinocera megalatlantica, Kowarzia plectrum (Mik), Phaeobalia dimidiata (Loew), W. (Chamaedipsia) beckeri (Mik), W. (Philolutra) angelieri Vaillant and W. (P.) chvali Joost. A key to species of aquatic Empididae of Greece is provided for the first time. Information related to the European Ecoregions in which species were found is given. Compared to the other studied countries in the Balkans, the Greek species assemblage is most similar to that of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. PMID:29362533

Socializing health services in Greece.

PubMed

Kent, G D

1989-01-01

Greece's first socialist government has established the legal framework for a national health system. The Government would not have been able to initiate such an action if the previous health delivery system had not had significant imperfections. In addressing these deficiencies, none of the solutions offered by the government has proved more controversial than the proposal to bring the practice of medicine under its control. To meet this objective, the Greek Government is employing strategies that maintain the growth in the total number of physicians; expand the ranks of its own physician corps; eliminate private ownership of most hospitals and clinics; and increase physicians' accountability to the public sector. It may be that the ultimate success of the Government's attempt to establish a national health system will depend on its ability to control physicians as a group.

The prevalence of rheumatic diseases in central Greece: a population survey

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Rheumatic diseases are a major health and financial burden for societies. The prevalence of rheumatic diseases may change over time, and therefore, we sought to estimate the prevalence of rheumatic diseases in an adult population of central Greece. Methods In this prospective cross-sectional population survey, a random sample of adult population was drawn from poll catalogues of a region in central Greece. A postal questionnaire was sent to 3,528 people for the presence of any rheumatic disease. All positive cases were further confirmed by clinical examination using the American College of Rheumatoloy criteria. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess risk factors for rheumatic diseases. Results The response rate was 48.3% (1,705 answers). Four hundred and twenty individuals (24.6%) had a rheumatic disease. The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis was 0.58% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32-0.87), of psoriatic arthritis was 0.35% (95% CI, 0.33-1.13), of ankylosing spondylitis was 0.29% (95% CI, 0.28-0.94), of primary Sjögren's syndrome was 0.23% (95% CI, 0.22-0.75) and of systemic lupus erythematosus was 0.11% (95% CI, 0.11-0.37). One individual had systemic sclerosis (prevalence, 0.058%), 1 individual had dermatomyositis (prevalence, 0.058%; 95% CI, 0.05-0.18), 2 individuals had vasculitis (prevalence 0.11%; 95% CI, 0.11-0.37), 81 individuals had gout (prevalence, 4.75%; 95% CI, 4.41-5.13), and 304 individuals had osteoarthritis (OA) (prevalence 17.82%; 95% CI, 16.50-19.34). Gout was associated with male gender, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, and OA was associated with age, female gender, and hypertension. Conclusions Rheumatic diseases are common in central Greece, affecting nearly a quarter of adult population. OA and gout are the most common joint disorders. PMID:20504294

Four Years Later--How Greece, N.Y., Uses Site-Based Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahrenfuss, Rene M.

1992-01-01

Four years of hard work and training have gone into creating site-based management structures and processes at Greece (New York) Central School District. Each school has management team. All schools are dedicated to meeting district's mission and vision, but how schools accomplish these goals is up to them. Except for overall payroll, all…

EU Funding and Issues of "Marketisation" of Higher Education in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gouvias, Dionysios

2011-01-01

In the last 10 years, tens of millions of euros from European Union (EU) funding have started to flow into Greece's state schools and universities. New departments of higher education have been established all over the country, and a new institutional framework for lifelong learning has been recently set up. Considering the above context, certain…

Temporary agency work, migration and the crisis in Greece: labour market segmentation intensified

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

This article focuses on the under-researched temporary agency employment in Greece. It shows that the development of the temporary employment agency sector has gone hand in hand with the flow of undocumented and exploitable migrant labour in Greece over the past 25 years, reflecting the segmentation of the Greek labour market along ethnic lines. Using empirical research evidence on the operation of temporary employment agencies in the Greek hospitality and health care sectors, the article highlights the precarious or even illicit nature of agency employment in a context in which labour outsourcing and flexible employment are promoted by policy-makers. Last but not least, it suggests that the segmented landscape of the Greek labour market has become more complex during the economic crisis, with more and more Greeks drawn to agency-mediated precarious employment. PMID:27499601

An Analysis of Attitudes of Pedagogical Students towards Environmental Education in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyridis, A.; Mavrikaki, E.; Tsakiridou, H.; Daikopoulos, J.; Zigouri, H.

2005-01-01

Purpose--Greek pedagogical students' attitudes towards environmental education in Greece are very important as these students represent future teachers who will affect the success of environmental education in schools. Therefore, the identification of their views will give us the potentiality to modify the curricula of pedagogical departments…

The Diabetic foot: A global threat and a huge challenge for Greece

PubMed Central

Papanas, N; Maltezos, E

2009-01-01

The diabetic foot continues to be a major cause of morbidity, posing a global threat. Substantial progress has been now accomplished in the treatment of foot lesions, but further improvement is required. Treatment options may be classified into established measures (revascularisation, casting and debridement) and new modalities. All therapeutic measures should be provided by specialised dedicated multidisciplinary foot clinics. In particular, the diabetic foot is a huge challenge for Greece. There is a dramatic need to increase the number of engaged foot care teams and their resources throughout the country. It is also desirable to continue education of both physicians and general diabetic population on the magnitude of the problem and on the suitable preventative measures. At the same time, more data on the prevalence and clinical manifestations of the diabetic foot in Greece should be carefully collected. Finally, additional research should investigate feasible ways of implementing current knowledge in everyday clinical practice. PMID:20011082

Evolution of imidacloprid resistance in Myzus persicae in Greece and susceptibility data for spirotetramat.

PubMed

Voudouris, Costas Ch; Williamson, Martin S; Skouras, Panagiotis J; Kati, Amalia N; Sahinoglou, Anastasia J; Margaritopoulos, John T

2017-09-01

Myzus persicae s.l. is a major crop pest globally and has evolved resistance to a range of insecticide classes making it increasingly difficult to control in some areas. Here we compare bioassay monitoring data for two important compounds, imidacloprid and spirotetramat, on field samples/clones collected in Greece. A total of 122 aphid samples/clones from central and northern Greece were examined in dose-response bioassays with imidacloprid. There was an overall increase in the level of resistance (resistance factor = 15-40) within tobacco-collected samples from 78.7% in 2007 to 86.7% in 2015. The corresponding frequencies for peach samples were 13.3% and 6.7%. These results were confounded however by the first identification of the R81T target mutation in Greece during 2015 (4.3% as heterozygotes in peach) and 2016 (21.3% as heterozygotes in peach). No resistance to spirotetramat was found at the 60 clones collected in 2015. Resistance to imidacloprid is continuing to increase within Greek M. persicae s.l. populations and the situation is likely to deteriorate further with the recent identification of the R81T resistance mutation. Resistance to spirotetramat has not been found and is therefore a good alternative to neonicotinoids for resistance management. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Bath water contamination with Legionella and nontuberculous mycobacteria in 24-hour home baths, hot springs, and public bathhouses of Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Michiko; Oana, Kozue; Kawakami, Yoshiyuki

2014-01-01

Bath water samples were collected from 116 hot springs, 197 public bathhouses, and 38 24-hour home baths in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, during the period of April 2009 to November 2011, for determining the presence and extent of contamination with Legionella and nontuberculous mycobacteria. Cultures positive for Legionella were observed in 123 of the 3,314 bath water samples examined. The distribution and abundance of Legionella and/or combined contamination with Legionella and nontuberculous mycobacteria were investigated to clarify the contamination levels. The abundance of Legionella was demonstrated to correlate considerably with the levels of combined contamination with Legionella and nontuberculous mycobacteria. Legionella spp. were obtained from 61% of the water samples from 24-hour home baths, but only from 3% of the samples from public bathhouses and hot springs. This is despite the fact that a few outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in Nagano Prefecture as well as other regions of Japan have been traced to bath water contamination. The comparatively higher rate of contamination of the 24-hour home baths is a matter of concern. It is therefore advisable to routinely implement good maintenance of the water basins, particularly of the 24-hour home baths.

Possible Rickettsia massiliae Infection in Greece: an Imported Case.

PubMed

Chochlakis, Dimosthenis; Bongiorni, Christine; Partalis, Nikolaos; Tselentis, Yannis; Psaroulaki, Anna

2016-07-22

Tick-borne rickettsioses are endemic in Greece; however, until recently, only Rickettsia typhi and R. conorii were tested routinely in human samples arriving at the National Reference Center. During the last few years, the identification of different rickettsia species in ticks led to the introduction of other spotted fever group rickettsiae in routine analysis. Under the new scheme, R. massiliae is now tested routinely in human samples; herein, we describe a human case of this infection.

Twins in Ancient Greece: a synopsis.

PubMed

Malamitsi-Puchner, Ariadne

2016-01-01

This brief outline associates twins with several aspects of life in Ancient Greece. In Greek mythology twins caused ambivalent reactions and were believed to have ambivalent feelings for each other. Very often, they were viewed as the representatives of the dualistic nature of the universe. Heteropaternal superfecundation, which dominates in ancient myths, explains on one hand, the god-like qualities and, on the other hand, the mortal nature of many twins. An assumption is presented that legends referring to twins might reflect the territorial expansions of Ancient Greeks in Northern Mediterranean, around the Black Sea, in Asia Minor, as well as North East Africa. In conclusion, in Greek antiquity, twins have been used as transitional figures between myth and reality.

Vocational Education and Training in Greece: Short Description. CEDEFOP Panorama Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vretakou, Vassileia; Rousseas, Panagiotis

As in the past, young people in Greece generally consider vocational education and training (VET) a last resort despite the state's continued efforts to promote VET as an option of equal standing and despite the research data showing that VET graduates face fewer difficulties in finding work than general education graduates do. In the past 10…

Rationality, Information Search and Choice in Higher Education: Evidence from Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menon, Maria Eliophotou; Saiti, Anna; Socratous, Michalis

2007-01-01

The paper presents the findings of a study of the decision-making process which precedes the choice of a university in Greece. Specifically, the degree of rationality exhibited by prospective students is assessed in an attempt to provide a test for the economic approach to the explanation of human behaviour. Information search is used as an…

How "Intercultural" Is Education in Greece? Insights from Policymakers and Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palaiologou, Nektaria; Faas, Daniel

2012-01-01

Schools in Greece particularly in inner-city areas, have seen a considerable increase in the number of migrant students over the past two decades. In this article, we discuss the intercultural education policy, which was introduced in 1996, in response to the migration and diversity the country has seen since the mid-1980s. We explore how…

Tobacco use among students aged 13–15 years in Greece: the GYTS project

PubMed Central

Kyrlesi, Athina; Soteriades, Elpidoforos S; Warren, Charles W; Kremastinou, Jeni; Papastergiou, Panagiotis; Jones, Nathan R; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos

2007-01-01

Background Data on the prevalence of tobacco use among teenagers in Greece are limited. We examined the prevalence of smoking among middle-school students in Greece using the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). Methods The Global Youth Tobacco Survey was implemented in Greece during the academic year 2004 – 2005 by the University of Thessaly and the National School of Public Health. Data were collected using the GYTS self-administered anonymous questionnaire, which was distributed by specifically trained field workers to a nationally representative sample of middle-school students aged 13–15 years (through randomly selected schools and classes), randomly selected through a two-stage cluster sample design. Data processing and statistical analyses were performed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Results About one third of the students 32.1% (29.4 – 35.0) reported that they had tried tobacco in the past, while 16.2% (14.3 – 18.4) reported being current users of tobacco products. In addition, 1 in 4 of ever smokers reported that they began smoking before the age of 10 years old. Almost 1 in 5 never smokers reported being susceptible to initiate smoking in the next year and about 89.8% (88.3 – 91.1) of the respondents were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke in their homes and 94.1% (93.2 – 94.9) in public places. Finally, a strikingly high number of students 95% (89.5 – 97.7) reported that they were able to buy their own cigarettes without restrictions. Conclusion The results of the GYTS show that the prevalence of smoking in middle-school children is alarmingly high in Greece. Smoking among young people constitutes a significant problem that is destined to worsen in the absence of any comprehensive efforts focused on strict anti-smoking legislation, policies and tobacco control interventions targeting children at a young age. PMID:17207291

Situation Report - Bulgaria, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in eight foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are Bulgaria, Greece, Finland, Hungary, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Yugoslavia. Information is provided in the following areas where appropriate and if it is available: (1) statistics on population, birth…

Applications and Developments of Telemedicine in Greece.

PubMed

Tsioumanis, Vasileios; Mangita, Andrianna; Diomidous, Marianna

2016-01-01

The need to transmit medical information with images, data and voice from distance via telecommunications has come to our knowledge from ages. The topic has a new interest because of the progress in technology of telecommunications and information systems. The current article makes an effort to inform the reader in a simple way about what Telemedicine is and where it can be used. In this paper is presented the definition and the purpose of telemedicine, followed by the services provide through telemedicine applications. Finally, is analyzed the use of telemedicine in Greece its advantages, benefits and disadvantages, concluding with a final evaluation of it.

Occupational, dietary, and other risk factors for myelodysplastic syndromes in Western Greece.

PubMed

Avgerinou, Christina; Giannezi, Ioanna; Theodoropoulou, Stela; Lazaris, Vasileios; Kolliopoulou, Georgia; Zikos, Panagiotis; Alamanos, Yannis; Leotsinidis, Michalis; Symeonidis, Argiris

2017-08-01

We have observed an increasing incidence of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in the geographic area of Western Greece during the past two decades. The objective of this study was to investigate potential risk factors for the manifestation of MDS in this area of Greece. A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in the public hospitals of the region. Participants were interviewed based on a questionnaire regarding demographics, occupational exposures, smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary, and domestic factors. A total of 228 individuals (126 cases, 102 controls) were recruited in this study. Univariate analysis showed that risk of MDS was associated with a family history of hematologic malignancy or solid tumor, exposure to pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, increased weekly intake of meat and eggs, and increased alcohol intake, whereas fruit intake had a protective effect. Analysis by pesticide ingredient showed a weak association of exposure to paraquat and glyphosate with the occurrence of MDS. Multivariate analysis showed that independent risk factors for the manifestation of MDS were family history of solid tumor (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.32-4.65), meat intake for ≥5 days/week (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.05-6.80) and exposure to pesticides (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.73-6.11). Exposure to pesticides is a major risk factor of MDS in Western Greece. Family history of solid tumor and increased meat intake also appear to play a role in the pathogenesis of MDS. Public health authorities should implement policies to advise and protect farmers from the harmful effects of agrochemicals. Emphasis should also be given to health promotion advice including healthy eating.

Incidence and other epidemiological characteristics of sudden cardiac death in northwest Greece.

PubMed

Goudevenos, J A; Papadimitriou, E D; Papathanasiou, A; Makis, A C; Pappas, K; Sideris, D A

1995-03-24

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) has not been investigated separately in Greece. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological characteristics of people dying suddenly out of hospital in an area of Greece. In 1990, a population based study was started to detect the cases of people dying suddenly out of hospital (< 1 h after onset of acute symptoms or < 6 h after being seen alive) in a closed population in Northwest Greece (Ioannina area: 160,000 inhabitants). During a 3.5 year period, 283 potential cases aged 30-70 years were identified by monitoring the mortality in the emergency rooms of the two hospitals of the area, the coroner's office and the death certificates from the Government Department of Statistics. The diagnosis of SCD was established in 223 (183 men, 40 women; mean ages 59 and 61 years respectively) after visiting and interviewing the relatives and/or the family doctors within 12 days (range 1-28) after the death. SCD in the study accounts for 50% of all cardiovascular deaths and is the most common cause of death after neoplasia. The most common place of death was home (151 cases, 68%), and in 174 cases (78%) deaths occurred while the patients were relaxing or during routine activities. Prodromal symptoms were reported in 57 cases (26%). The time of day of death showed a circadian variation, with a peak in the late morning from 9:00 to 12:00. Ninety four (42%) had a prior history of heart disease. One hundred and ninety one cases (86%) occurred in the subgroup of age 50-70 years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

"These Things Don't Happen in Greece": A Qualitative Study of Greek Young People's Attitudes to Smoking, Secondhand Smoke and the Smokefree Legislation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamvakas, Ioannis; Amos, Amanda

2010-01-01

Greece has the highest smoking prevalence in the European Union, with adolescents having high levels of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). In July 2009, national smokefree legislation was implemented in Greece. This study explored Greek young people's attitudes to smoking, SHS and the impending legislation. Semi-structured qualitative interviews…

Informing primary care reform in Greece: patient expectations and experiences (the QUALICOPC study).

PubMed

Lionis, Christos; Papadakis, Sophia; Tatsi, Chrysanthi; Bertsias, Antonis; Duijker, George; Mekouris, Prodromos-Bodosakis; Boerma, Wienke; Schäfer, Willemijn

2017-04-05

Primary health care is the cornerstone of a high quality health care system. Greece has been actively attempting to reform health care services in order to improve heath outcomes and reduce health care spending. Patient-centered approaches to health care delivery have been increasingly acknowledged for their value informing quality improvement activities. This paper reports the quality of primary health care services in Greece as perceived by patients and aspects of health care delivery that are valued by patients. This study was conducted as part of the Quality and Costs of Primary Care in Europe (QUALICOPC) study. A cross-sectional sample of patients were recruited from general practitioner's offices in Greece and surveyed. Patients rated five features of person-focused primary care: accessibility; continuity and coordination; comprehensiveness; patient activation; and doctor-patient communication. One tenth of the patients ranked the importance of each feature on a scale of one to four, and nine tenths of patients scored their experiences of care received. Comparisons were made between patients with and without chronic disease. The sample included 220 general practitioners from both public and private sector. A total of 1964 patients that completed the experience questionnaire and 219 patients that completed the patient values questionnaire were analyzed. Patients overall report a positive experiences with the general practice they visited. Several gaps were identified in particular in terms of wait times for appointments, general practitioner access to patient medical history, delivery of preventative services, patient involvement in decision-making. Patients with chronic disease report better experience than respondents without a chronic condition, however these patient groups report the same values in terms of qualities of the primary care system that are important to them. Data gathered may be used to improve the quality of primary health care services in

Zero-truncated panel Poisson mixture models: Estimating the impact on tourism benefits in Fukushima Prefecture.

PubMed

Narukawa, Masaki; Nohara, Katsuhito

2018-04-01

This study proposes an estimation approach to panel count data, truncated at zero, in order to apply a contingent behavior travel cost method to revealed and stated preference data collected via a web-based survey. We develop zero-truncated panel Poisson mixture models by focusing on respondents who visited a site. In addition, we introduce an inverse Gaussian distribution to unobserved individual heterogeneity as an alternative to a popular gamma distribution, making it possible to capture effectively the long tail typically observed in trip data. We apply the proposed method to estimate the impact on tourism benefits in Fukushima Prefecture as a result of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 accident. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of all Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis strains isolated from food and food animals in Greece from 2008 to 2010 with clinical isolates.

PubMed

Papadopoulos, T; Petridou, E; Zdragas, A; Mandilara, G; Nair, S; Peters, T; Chattaway, M; de Pinna, E; Passiotou, M; Vatopoulos, A

2016-05-01

The aim of the present work was to study the epidemiology of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) in Greece, comparing all the food and food animal isolates during a 3-year period with clinical isolates. Submission of the generated data to the PulseNet Europe database was carried out in order to study the population structure of this particular serovar and indicate possible connections with European strains. One hundred and sixty-eight (168) S. Enteritidis strains of human, animal, and food origin, isolated during the period 2008-2010 in Greece, were studied. Strains were characterized by phenotypic (antibiotic resistance) and molecular [pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST)] methods. PFGE revealed 39 XbaI, 48 BlnI, and 80 XbaI-BlnI distinct pulsotypes, suggesting several clones circulating through the food chain and multiple sources of transmission. Submission to the PulseNet Europe database indicated that PFGE profile SENTXB.0001, the most common PFGE profile in Europe, was also predominant in Greece (33.3 %). MLST showed that all the strains studied shared the same sequence type (ST11), representing the most common ST in Europe. High rates of resistance to nalidixic acid were observed among human and poultry isolates (~25 %), indicating the potential fluoroquinolone treatment failure. Our data suggest that strains originating from multiple reservoirs circulated in Greece through the food chain during the study period. Predominant profiles in Greece were common to PulseNet Europe profiles, indicating similarities between the S. Enteritidis populations in Greece and Europe.

Policy and Curriculum Development in Greece. the Case of Secondary School Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ifanti, Amalia A.

2007-01-01

This paper examines the politics and values of the secondary school curriculum in Greece and attempts to find out the influences of cultural tradition and centralized control on curriculum development. In particular, it studies the decision-making process and the politics of educational control, employing some theoretical elements from centralist…

School Buildings in Greece: The Bioclimatic Challenge and a Photovoltaic Pilot Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patargias, Panagiotis A.; Angela, Kalianou; Galanis, George; Vassilopoulou, Marina; Drosou, Maria; Protogeropoulos, Christos

2007-01-01

Greece's School Buildings Organisation (SBO) is developing bioclimatic pilot schemes which are yielding positive results. Bioclimatic action has been one of the principal priorities of Greek school infrastructure planning since 2004. Among the activities undertaken by SBO to use renewable energy sources in school buildings is a pilot project to…

Evaluation of ambient dose equivalent rates influenced by vertical and horizontal distribution of radioactive cesium in soil in Fukushima Prefecture.

PubMed

Malins, Alex; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Nakama, Shigeo; Saito, Tatsuo; Okumura, Masahiko; Machida, Masahiko; Kitamura, Akihiro

2016-01-01

The air dose rate in an environment contaminated with (134)Cs and (137)Cs depends on the amount, depth profile and horizontal distribution of these contaminants within the ground. This paper introduces and verifies a tool that models these variables and calculates ambient dose equivalent rates at 1 m above the ground. Good correlation is found between predicted dose rates and dose rates measured with survey meters in Fukushima Prefecture in areas contaminated with radiocesium from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. This finding is insensitive to the choice for modeling the activity depth distribution in the ground using activity measurements of collected soil layers, or by using exponential and hyperbolic secant fits to the measurement data. Better predictions are obtained by modeling the horizontal distribution of radioactive cesium across an area if multiple soil samples are available, as opposed to assuming a spatially homogeneous contamination distribution. Reductions seen in air dose rates above flat, undisturbed fields in Fukushima Prefecture are consistent with decrement by radioactive decay and downward migration of cesium into soil. Analysis of remediation strategies for farmland soils confirmed that topsoil removal and interchanging a topsoil layer with a subsoil layer result in similar reductions in the air dose rate. These two strategies are more effective than reverse tillage to invert and mix the topsoil. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regional differences in mortality in Greece (1984–2004): The case of Thrace

PubMed Central

Papastergiou, Panagiotis; Rachiotis, George; Polyzou, Konstantina; Zilidis, Christos; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos

2008-01-01

Background Mortality differences at national level can generate hypothesis on possible causal association that could be further investigated. The aim of the present study was to identify regions with high mortality rates in Greece. Methods Age adjusted specific mortality rates by gender were calculated in each of the 10 regions of Greece during the period 1984–2004. Moreover standardized mortality rates (SMR) were also calculated by using population census data of years 1981, 1991, 2001. The mortality rates were examined in relation to GDP per capita, the ratio of hospital beds, and doctors per population for each region. Results During the study period, the region of Thrace recorded the highest mortality rate at almost all age groups in both sexes among the ten Greek regions. Thrace had one of the lowest GDP per capita (11 123 Euro) and recorded low ratios of Physicians (284) per 100 000 inhabitants in comparison to the national ratios. Moreover the ratio of hospital beds per population was in Thrace very low (268/100 000) in comparison to the national ratio (470/100 000). Thrace is the Greek region with the highest percentage of Muslim population (33%). Multivariate analysis revealed that GDP and doctors/100000 inhabitants were associated with increased mortality in Thrace. Conclusion Thrace is the region with the highest mortality rate in Greece. Further research is needed to assess the contribution of each possible risk factor to the increased mortality rate of Thrace which could have important public health implications. PMID:18721482

Incidence Patterns and Occupational Risk Factors of Human Brucellosis in Greece, 2004-2015.

PubMed

Lytras, T; Danis, K; Dounias, G

2016-10-01

Brucellosis is the most common bacterial zoonosis worldwide. Greece has the highest reported incidence among EU countries. However, occupational risk factors have not been well described. To determine the incidence patterns and exposure risk factors of brucellosis in Greece. We used national-level surveillance and occupational denominator data to estimate the incidence patterns and exposure risk factors of brucellosis in Greece, with particular emphasis on occupation. Between November 2003 and December 2015 a total of 2159 human brucellosis cases was reported. The mean incidence rate was 1.62 per 100 000 population per year. A large majority of cases (77.1%) reported consumption of unpasteurized milk or contact with livestock animals. Most cases occured in farmers and livestock breeders (1079 [87.7%] of 1231 cases reporting their occupation), corresponding to an annual incidence of 7.1 per 100 000. However, there were other occupations with a similar or higher risk: butchers and abattoir workers (12.7 per 100 000), laboratory personnel (3.1 per 100 000), while the highest risk was for veterinarians (53.2 per 100 000). Brucellosis incidence in specific occupational groups was much higher than in the general population. These results underline the importance of collecting information on occupation, both during the diagnostic process and in the surveillance system. Besides efforts to control brucellosis in animals, organized prevention efforts are needed within an occupational health framework, especially for the most vulnerable workers.

The triviality of abortion in Greece.

PubMed

Naziri, D

1991-09-01

In Greece modern contraceptive methods are used only in a very limited manner and abortion is the primary form of birth control. There are several social and psychological issues that are considered to be responsible. A 1985 study done for the Family Planning Center of Thessaloniki found that the ratio of live births is 1.3 and the ratio of abortion is 1.8/woman. 88% of women in the study had had an abortion while practicing coitus interruptus. 90% of the women never bought condoms. In a 1989 study only 6% of women had a positive attitude about condoms. Abortion is used as the primary method of birth control regardless of a woman's socioeconomic status. Further it was found that abortion did not correlate with other modern attitudes or the emancipation of women. The decision to abort was related to difficulties and constraints inherent in bring up a child. However positive attitudes toward contraception were related to educational and occupational levels. To complicate matters the information concerning contraceptives was problematic and related to the women's own lack of initiative to find out, and a lack of correct information offered from gynecologists. A 1990 study on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices in relation to HIV infection indicated that the most favored method of contraception was condoms, but 60.8% of the men reported use versus 33.7% of the women. However these figures are not very representative because the survey was given in the context of HIV prevention and no attempt was made to distinguish between regular and irregular use patterns. Abortions is not a moral issue in Greece. It was legalized in 1986 only because it came to the attention of the government that the previous prohibition was being completely ignored. Abortion is strongly affected by social and psychological factors that are complex and result from cultural view points about fertility, maternal value, and life itself that are unique to the Greek culture.

Occupational dermatoses by type of work in Greece.

PubMed

Zorba, Eleni; Karpouzis, Antony; Zorbas, Alexandros; Bazas, Theodore; Zorbas, Sam; Alexopoulos, Elias; Zorbas, Ilias; Kouskoukis, Konstantinos; Konstandinidis, Theodoros

2013-09-01

To elucidate the relationship between seven occupational dermatoses (ODs) and 20 types of work in Greece. This was a prevalence epidemiologic study of certain ODs among 4,000 workers employed in 20 types of enterprise, in 104 companies, in 2006-2012, using data from company medical records, questionnaires, occupational medical, and special examinations. The χ(2) test was applied to reveal statistically significant relationships between types of enterprises and occurrence of ODs. A high percentage (39.9%) of employees included in the study population suffered from ODs. The highest prevalence rates were noted among hairdressers (of contact dermatitis: 30%), cooks (of contact dermatitis: 29.5%), bitumen workers (of acne: 23.5%), car industry workers (of mechanical injury: 15%), construction workers (of contact urticaria: 29.5%), industrial cleaning workers (of chemical burns: 13%), and farmers (of malignant tumors: 5.5%). We observed several statistical significant correlations between ODs (acute and chronic contact dermatitis, urticaria, mechanical injury, acne, burns, skin cancer) and certain types of enterprises. There was no statistically significant correlation between gender and prevalence of ODs, except for dermatoses caused by mechanical injuries afflicting mainly men [χ(2) (1) = 13.40, p < 0.001] and for chronic contact dermatitis [χ(2) (1) = 5.53, p = 0.019] afflicting mainly women. Prevalence of ODs is high in Greece, contrary to all official reports by the Greek National Institute of Health. There is a need to introduce a nationwide voluntary surveillance system for reporting ODs and to enhance skin protection measures at work.

Organ transplantation in Greece: the need for mediation.

PubMed

Zanni, A

2014-11-01

Organ transplants are not regarded as an exclusively medical process, because they involve financial, religious, philosophic, and bioethical parameters. It becomes clear that if they are to achieve their purpose, which we believe extends well beyond the medical dimension, the creation of a comprehensive framework of communication between the involved parties is of paramount importance. The aim of this paper is to present an outline and a number of considerations regarding the communicational, bioethical, and legal issues that arise from a rather dramatic state of affairs in Greece today: In 2012 the rate of organ transplants stood at only 7 per 1 million of the population. The outdated legal framework and the lack of trust on the part of patients and the public have led to a highly inefficient system that is lagging behind in many respects. The proposition made in this paper is that there is a need for a new system of communication between doctors, patients, relatives of patients, and hospitals: bioethical mediation. This is a system that has played a vital role and has produced astounding results in other countries. There is also every indication that the introduction of such a system is crucial for Greece, especially as the symptoms of the acute financial crisis are become fully visible and tangible. Mediation aims to identify solutions that are oriented toward the interests and wishes of patients, are acknowledged and accepted by all parties involved, and are in tune with the values and the principles of medical practice.

Service quality perceptions in primary health care centres in Greece

PubMed Central

Papanikolaou, Vicky; Zygiaris, Sotiris

2012-01-01

Abstract Context  The paper refers to the increased competition between health care providers and the need for patient‐centred services in Greece. Using service quality methodology, this paper investigates service quality perceptions of patients in Greek public primary health centres. Objective  To test the internal consistency and applicability of SERVQUAL in primary health care centres in Greece. Strategy  SERVQUAL was used to examine whether patients have different expectations from health care providers and whether different groups of patients may consider some dimensions of care more important than others. Results  The analysis showed that there were gaps in all dimensions measured by SERVQUAL. The largest gap was detected in empathy. Further analysis showed that there were also differences depending on gender, age and education levels. A separate analysis of expectations and perceptions revealed that this gap was because of differences in patients’ perceptions rather than expectations. Discussion and conclusions  This paper raises a number of issues that concern the applicability of SERVQUAL in health care services and could enhance current discussions about SERVQUAL improvement. Quality of health care needs to be redefined by encompassing multiple dimensions. Beyond a simple expectations–perceptions gap, people may hold different understandings of health care that, in turn, influence their perception of the quality of services. PMID:22296402

Service quality perceptions in primary health care centres in Greece.

PubMed

Papanikolaou, Vicky; Zygiaris, Sotiris

2014-04-01

The paper refers to the increased competition between health care providers and the need for patient-centred services in Greece. Using service quality methodology, this paper investigates service quality perceptions of patients in Greek public primary health centres. To test the internal consistency and applicability of SERVQUAL in primary health care centres in Greece. SERVQUAL was used to examine whether patients have different expectations from health care providers and whether different groups of patients may consider some dimensions of care more important than others. The analysis showed that there were gaps in all dimensions measured by SERVQUAL. The largest gap was detected in empathy. Further analysis showed that there were also differences depending on gender, age and education levels. A separate analysis of expectations and perceptions revealed that this gap was because of differences in patients' perceptions rather than expectations. THIS paper raises a number of issues that concern the applicability of SERVQUAL in health care services and could enhance current discussions about SERVQUAL improvement. Quality of health care needs to be redefined by encompassing multiple dimensions. Beyond a simple expectations-perceptions gap, people may hold different understandings of health care that, in turn, influence their perception of the quality of services. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

EU Strategies to Encourage Youth Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Higher Education in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karanassios, Nikolaos; Pazarskis, Michail; Mitsopoulos, Konstantinos; Christodoulou, Petros

2006-01-01

The authors present and discuss significant aspects of youth entrepreneurship in the European Union (EU) and, especially, in higher education institutions in Greece. The structure of this paper is as follows. First, the study introduces a conceptual basis for entrepreneurship as defined in the EU and looks at entrepreneurship in the context of…

Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Sea Turtles in Elementary Students on Zakynthos, Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimopoulos, Dimitrios I.; Pantis, John D.

2003-01-01

Utilizes a 32-item survey instrument to measure knowledge and attitudes of 5th and 6th grade students regarding sea turtle conservation on Zakynthos, Greece. Results indicate low knowledge scores and high scores for attitudes, but an overall positive correlation between knowledge and attitudes. Knowledge, understanding and/or concern, and locus of…

The Progressivity of Public Education in Greece: Empirical Findings and Policy Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koutsampelas, Christos; Tsakloglou, Panos

2015-01-01

This paper examines the short-run distributional effects of publicly provided education services in Greece using static incidence analysis. Public education is found to be inequality-reducing but the progressivity of the system withers away as we move up to higher educational levels. We employ a framework of both relative and absolute inequality…

Interdependence between Greece and other European stock markets: A comparison of wavelet and VMD copula, and the portfolio implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain; Kumar, Ronald Ravinesh; Ali, Sajid; Ameer, Saba

2016-09-01

The interdependence of Greece and other European stock markets and the subsequent portfolio implications are examined in wavelet and variational mode decomposition domain. In applying the decomposition techniques, we analyze the structural properties of data and distinguish between short and long term dynamics of stock market returns. First, the GARCH-type models are fitted to obtain the standardized residuals. Next, different copula functions are evaluated, and based on the conventional information criteria and time varying parameter, Joe-Clayton copula is chosen to model the tail dependence between the stock markets. The short-run lower tail dependence time paths show a sudden increase in comovement during the global financial crises. The results of the long-run dependence suggest that European stock markets have higher interdependence with Greece stock market. Individual country's Value at Risk (VaR) separates the countries into two distinct groups. Finally, the two-asset portfolio VaR measures provide potential markets for Greece stock market investment diversification.

Spatial database for the management of "urban geology" geothematic information: the case of Drama City, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pantelias, Eustathios; Zervakou, Alexandra D.; Tsombos, Panagiotis I.; Nikolakopoulos, Konstantinos G.

2008-10-01

The aggregation of population in big cities leads to the concentration of human activities, economic wealth, over consumption of natural resources and urban growth without planning and sustainable management. As a result, urban societies are exposed to various dangers and threats with economical, social, ecological - environmental impacts on the urban surroundings. Problems associated with urban development are related to their geological conditions and those of their surroundings, e.g. flooding, land subsidence, groundwater pollution, soil contamination, earthquakes, landslides, etc. For these reasons, no sustainable urban planning can be done without geological information support. The first systematic recording, codification and documentation of "urban geology" geothematic information in Greece is implemented by the Institute of Geological and Mineral Exploration (I.G.M.E.) in the frame of project "Collection, codification and documentation of geothematic information for urban and suburban areas in Greece - pilot applications". Through the implementation of this project, all geothematic information derived from geological mapping, geotechnical - geochemical - geophysical research and measurements in four pilot areas of Greece Drama (North Greece), Nafplio & Sparti (Peloponnesus) and Thrakomakedones (Attica) is stored and processed in specially designed geodatabases in GIS environment containing vector and raster data. For the specific GIS application ArcGIS Personal Geodatabase is used. Data is classified in geothematic layers, grouped in geothematic datasets (e.g. Topography, Geology - Tectonics, Submarine Geology, Technical Geology, Hydrogeology, Soils, Radioactive elements, etc) and being processed in order to produced multifunctional geothematic maps. All compiled data constitute the essential base for land use planning and environmental protection in specific urban areas. With the termination of the project the produced geodatabase and other digital data

Rate of suicide and suicide attempts and their relationship to unemployment in Thessaloniki Greece (2000-2012).

PubMed

Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N; Savopoulos, Christos; Apostolopoulou, Martha; Dampali, Roxani; Zaggelidou, Eleni; Karlafti, Eleni; Fountoukidis, Ilias; Kountis, Pavlos; Limenopoulos, Vasilis; Plomaritis, Eustratios; Theodorakis, Pavlos; Hatzitolios, Apostolos I

2015-03-15

Recently there was a debate concerning the relationship between the economic crisis and an increase in attempted and completed suicides in Europe and especially in Greece. The aim of the current study was to calculate the rates of attempted and completed suicide per year in the county of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, northern Greece, for the years 2000-12, and to investigate their relationship with unemployment. The archive of the Emergency Outpatient Units of three hospitals was investigated and the results were projected to the county population. Data from the Hellenic statistics authority concerning regional general population and suicides and unemployment were used. The rate of attempted suicides was 16.69-40.34 per 10(5) inhabitants for males and 41.43-110.82 for females. Medication was the preferred method for 95.93%. The completed suicide rates varied from 3.62 to 5.47 for males and from 0.19 to 1.95 per 10(5) inhabitants for females. The male attempt rate correlated negatively with regional male unemployment (-0.63). For females the respected value was similar (-0.72). Concerning competed suicide rates, the respected values were 0.34 and 0.65. The attempt was repeated by 15.34%; almost half-repeated within the same year and 75% within two years. The female to male ratio varied significantly across years with 2:1 (more females) being the probable value for attempts and 1:3.6 (more males) for completed suicides. This is the first study from Greece reporting rates on the basis of hospital archives. Attempt and suicide rates are low in Greece. Attempts are negatively and suicides are positively correlated with unemployment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The practice of electroconvulsive therapy in Greece.

PubMed

Kaliora, Styliani C; Braga, Raphael J; Petrides, Georgios; Chatzimanolis, John; Papadimitriou, George N; Zervas, Iannis M

2013-09-01

To describe the practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Greece. A survey was conducted during the academic year 2008-2009. Electroconvulsive therapy use was investigated for 2007. All civilian institutions providing inpatient care were included. Centers that provided ECT completed a 57-item questionnaire. Centers that did not offer ECT completed a 13-item questionnaire. Fifty-five (82.1%) of 67 institutions responded. Electroconvulsive therapy was offered in 18 hospitals. Only 2 of 10 university hospitals offered ECT. Overall, 137 patients were treated with 1271 sessions in 2007. Only 1.47% discontinued treatment owing to adverse events. There were no deaths. Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis (41.3%) among those receiving ECT, followed by major depression (28.9%), bipolar depression (9.1%), catatonia (4.1%), suicidal ideation (3.3%), and schizoaffective disorder (2.5%). Physicians considered major depression (93.8%), catatonia (86.5%), schizophrenia (56.3%), and mania (50%) the most appropriate indications. Written informed consent was required in 77.8% of the institutions, whereas the rest required verbal consent. Bilateral ECT was the preferred electrode placement (88.9%). Modified ECT was used exclusively. Propofol was the preferred anesthetic (44.4%), followed by thiopental (38.9%). Seven (38.9%) of 18 hospitals used a fixed stimulus dose at first treatment. Five (27.8%) of 18 hospitals used the half-age method. Continuation/maintenance ECT was used in 33.3% of the hospitals. Outpatient ECT was seldom used. Lack of training, difficult access to anesthesiology, billing issues, and stigma were cited as the main impediments to the practice of ECT. Electroconvulsive therapy is practiced in moderate numbers in Greece and almost exclusively on an inpatient basis. Lack of training and lack of availability of anesthesiologists were cited as the most common obstacles to providing ECT.

Self-medication with antibiotics in rural population in Greece: a cross-sectional multicenter study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Self-medication is an important driver of antimicrobial overuse as well as a worldwide problem. The aim of the present study was to estimate the use of antibiotics, without medical prescription, in a sample of rural population presenting in primary care in southern Greece. Methods The study included data from 1,139 randomly selected adults (545 men/594 women, mean age ± SD: 56.2 ± 19.8 years), who visited the 6 rural Health Centres of southern Greece, between November 2009 and January 2010. The eligible participants were sought out on a one-to-one basis and asked to answer an anonymous questionnaire. Results Use of antibiotics within the past 12 months was reported by 888 participants (77.9%). 508 individuals (44.6%) reported that they had received antibiotics without medical prescription at least one time. The major source of self-medication was the pharmacy without prescription (76.2%). The antibiotics most frequently used for self-medication were amoxicillin (18.3%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (15.4%), cefaclor (9.7%), cefuroxim (7.9%), cefprozil (4.7%) and ciprofloxacin (2.3%). Fever (41.2%), common cold (32.0%) and sore throat (20.6%) were the most frequent indications for the use of self-medicated antibiotics. Conclusion In Greece, despite the open and rapid access to primary care services, it appears that a high proportion of rural adult population use antibiotics without medical prescription preferably for fever and common cold. PMID:20691111

Association between knowledge and attitudes of educators towards epilepsy and the risk of accidents in Greek schools.

PubMed

Toli, Theodora; Sourtzi, Panagiota; Tsoumakas, Konstantinos; Kalokerinou-Anagnostopoulou, Athena

2013-04-01

Accidents in children with epilepsy are an actual concern of teachers and parents in Greece and internationally. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the knowledge and attitudes of teachers and the frequency of accidents caused by epilepsy in Greece. The study surveyed 1404 public elementary school teachers from all prefectures of the country by an anonymous questionnaire. Results showed that teachers cannot always recognize the manifestations of an epileptic seizure or an injury caused by it, making it difficult for them to report such incidents, and, sometimes, they use wrong or even dangerous manipulations during seizures. Furthermore, the knowledge and attitudes of teachers were associated with the occurrence of accidents. It is, therefore, of major importance that the responsible authorities provide teachers with appropriate guidelines to respond to such incidents, especially in schools where a school nurse is not present. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The cultural dimension of tightness-looseness: An analysis of situational constraint in Estonia and Greece.

PubMed

Realo, Anu; Linnamägi, Karmen; Gelfand, Michele J

2015-06-01

The importance of tightness-looseness as a dimension that explains a considerable amount of variance between cultures was demonstrated by Gelfand et al. (2011). Tight nations have many strong norms and a low tolerance of deviant behaviour, whereas loose nations have weak social norms and a high tolerance of deviant behaviour. The main aim of the current studies was to examine situational constraint in Estonia and Greece: that is, how the cultural dimension of tightness-looseness is manifested in everyday situations in those two countries. The findings of a questionnaire study (Study 1) suggested that, in general, there is higher constraint across everyday situations in Greece than in Estonia, but situational constraint in Greece is especially strong in school and organisational settings where people have hierarchically structured roles. The results of an observational study (Study 2) revealed a relatively high agreement between appropriateness of certain behaviours as judged by the respondents in Study 1 and the frequencies of observed behaviours in the two countries. Our findings suggest that the strength of situations may substantially vary both within and across cultures, and that the attitudes of the members about situational strength in their respective cultures are in concordance with observations of situations by neutral observers in how people in general behave in their culture. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

PALSAR/ALOS Interferometry in the Gulf of Corinth and Patras (Greece) Comparison with ASAR/ Envisat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elias, Panagiotis; Briole, Pierre; Sykioti, Olga

2008-11-01

In the western part of the Gulf of Corinth (Greece), nineteen PALSAR/ALOS images were acquired, processed and compared thematically with C-band ASAR/ENVISAT data. The rift of Corinth has been long identified as a site of major importance due to its intense geophysical activity. It is one of the world's most rapidly extending continental regions and it has one of the highest seismicity rates in the euro-Mediterranean region. Specifically, around the Gulf of Patras, the deformation field is less well known, and we hope to improve this knowledge by exploiting L-band data. This is also important for acquiring a better understanding of the ground deformation around the city of Patras, which is the third biggest city in Greece. The target area includes the E-W oriented Gulf of Patras, separating the north from the south part of Greece. For this reason, the two parts are examined each part separately in order to exclude the sea in the stage of cross-correlation between master and slave image. Interferograms from the Patras frame used for the detection of ground deformation due to June 8th, 2008 Andravida earththquake, showed no co-seismic and post-seismic signal. Finally, we conclude that L-band inteferograms present better coherence compared with C-band interferograms in this area.

Sexual functions in pregnancy: different situations in near geography: a case study on Turkey, Iran and Greece.

PubMed

Demireloz, Mahide; Turfan, Esin; Cetİntas Oner, Serap; Sakar, Tuğçe; Mamİk Atay, Dilek

2018-06-11

This descriptive and cross-sectional study aims to determine the sexual function status of primiparous and multiparous pregnant women who admitted to birth clinics in Iran, Turkey and Greece and to investigate the relationship between pregnancy processes and some variables. This descriptive and cross-sectional study population consisted of primipar/multipar pregnant women who met the research inclusion criteria, agreed to participate in the research and admitted to the Tabriz Pars Clinic in Iran, İzmir Aegean Maternity Hospital in Turkey and Thessaloniki University Hospital in Greece. When the sexual problems of women are compared according to their countries, it was determined that 40% of Iranian women "can't easily share their sexuality issues with their spouses", whereas this rate was 8% in Turkey and 6.7% in Greece.Considering the prevalence of orgasmic and arousal disorder in the prepregnancy period, it was reported that this rate was 53% in Iran, 47% in Greece and 5.6% in Turkey.In the study, the mean "Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)" score of Turkish women was found to be (59.83 ± 21.75), whereas the FSFI score of Iranian women was (62.86 ± 22.71) and mean FSFI score of the Greek women was (54.33 ± 21.15). In the study, it was shown that there is a difference in the sexual problems of the women, depending on the religious and sociocultural structure of the country they live in.For an effective case and training on sexuality, the norms and values of the society have to be understood in order to raise quality of lives and problem-free sexuality of pregnant women.

General Practice as a career choice among undergraduate medical students in Greece

PubMed Central

Mariolis, Anargiros; Mihas, Constantinos; Alevizos, Alevizos; Gizlis, Vasilis; Mariolis, Theodoros; Marayiannis, Konstantinos; Tountas, Yiannis; Stefanadis, Christodoulos; Philalithis, Anastas; Creatsas, George

2007-01-01

Background Although General Practice (GP) was recognized as a medical specialty in Greece in 1986, the number of GPs is insufficient to cover needs and only few medical graduates choose GP as a career option. In the present study we investigated the profile of medical students in terms of their decisions regarding specialization and the possible association of career choices different from GP with the status of undergraduate training regarding GP. Methods The sample consisted of final year students in the Medical School of the University of Athens, Greece. Students filled in a self-reported questionnaire focusing on medical specialization, and GP in particular. Results Response rate was 82.5% with 1021 questionnaires collected, out of 1237 eligible medical students. Only 44 out of the 1021 (4.3%) respondents stated that GP is -or could be- among their choices for specialty. The most popular medical specialty was General Surgery (10.9%), followed by Cardiology (9.6%), Endocrinology (8.7%) and Obstetrics-Gynaecology (8.3%). The most common criterion for choosing GP was the guaranteed employment on completion of the residency (54.6%) while a 56.6% of total respondents were positive to the introduction of GP/FM as a curriculum course during University studies. Conclusion Despite the great needs, GP specialty is currently not a career option among undergraduate students of the greater Medical University in Greece and is still held in low esteem. A university department responsible for undergraduate teaching, promotion and research in GP (where not available) is essential; the status of undergraduate training in general practice/family medicine seems to be one of the most important factors that influence physician career choices regarding primary care specialties. PMID:17543106

Life Cycle Assessment of the MBT plant in Ano Liossia, Athens, Greece

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abeliotis, Konstadinos, E-mail: kabeli@hua.gr; Kalogeropoulos, Alexandros; Lasaridi, Katia

2012-01-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We model the operation of an MBT plant in Greece based on LCA. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We compare four different MBT operating scenarios (among them and with landfilling). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Even the current operation of the MBT plant is preferable to landfilling. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Utilization of the MBT compost and metals generates the most environmental gains. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Thermal exploitation of RDF improves further the environmental performance of the plant. - Abstract: The aim of this paper is the application of Life Cycle Assessment to the operation of the MBT facility of Ano Liossia in the region of Attica in Greece. The regionmore » of Attica is home to almost half the population of Greece and the management of its waste is a major issue. In order to explicitly analyze the operation of the MBT plant, five scenarios were generated. Actual operation data of the MBT plant for the year 2008 were provided by the region of Attica and the LCA modeling was performed via the SimaPro 5.1 software while impact assessment was performed utilizing the Eco-indicator'99 method. The results of our analysis indicate that even the current operation of the MBT plant is preferable to landfilling. Among the scenarios of MBT operation, the one with complete utilization of the MBT outputs, i.e. compost, RDF, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, is the one that generates the most environmental gains. Our analysis indicates that the exploitation of RDF via incineration is the key factor towards improving the environmental performance of the MBT plant. Our findings provide a quantitative understanding of the MBT plant. Interpretation of results showed that proper operation of the modern waste management systems can lead to substantial reduction of environmental impacts and savings of resources.« less

[A study on genotype of 271 mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in 6 prefectures in Yunnan Province].

PubMed

Chen, L Y; Yang, X; Ru, H H; Yang, H J; Yan, S Q; Ma, L; Chen, J O; Yang, R; Xu, L

2018-01-06

Objective: To understand the characteristics of genotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in Yunnan province, and provide the molecular epidemiological evidence for prevention and control of tuberculosis in Yunnan Province. Methods: Mycobacterium Tuberculosis isolates were collected from 6 prefectures of Yunnan province in 2014 and their Genetypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were obtained using spoligotyping and multiple locus variable numbers of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA). The results of spoligotyping were entered into the SITVITWEB database to obtain the Spoligotyping International Type (SIT) patterns and the sublineages of MTB isolates. The genoyping patterns were clustered with BioNumerics (version 5.0). Results: A total of 271 MTB isolates represented patients were collected from six prefectures in Yunnan province. Out of these patients, 196 (72.3%) were male. The mean age of the patients was (41.9±15.1) years. The most MTB isolates were from Puer, totally 94 iusolates(34.69%). Spoligotyping analysis revealed that 151 (55.72%) MTB isolates belonged to the Beijing genotype, while the other 120 (44.28%) were from non-Beijing genotype; 40 genotypes were consisted of 24 unique genotypes and 16 clusters. The 271 isolates were differentiated into 30 clusters (2 to 17 isolates per cluster) and 177 unique genotypes, showing a clustering rate of 23.62%. Beijing genotype strains showed higher clustering rate than non-Beijing genotype strains (29.14% vs 16.67%). The HGI of 12-locus VNTR in total MTB strains, Beijing genotype strains and non-Beijing genotype was 0.993, 0.982 and 0.995 respectively. Conclusion: The Beijing genotype was the predominant genotype in Yunnan Province, the characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis showed high genetic diversity. The genotyping data reflect the potential recent ongoing transmission in some area, which highlights the urgent need for early diagnosis and treatment of the infectious TB cases, to cut off the

The zeolite deposits of Greece

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stamatakis, M.G.; Hall, A.; Hein, J.R.

1996-01-01

Zeolites are present in altered pyroclastic rocks at many localities in Greece, and large deposits of potential economic interest are present in three areas: (1) the Evros region of the province of Thrace in the north-eastern part of the Greek mainland; (2) the islands of Kimolos and Poliegos in the western Aegean; and (3) the island of Samos in the eastern Aegean Sea. The deposits in Thrace are of Eocene-Oligocene age and are rich in heulandite and/or clinoptilolite. Those of Kimolos and Poliegos are mainly Quaternary and are rich in mordenite. Those of Samos are Miocene, and are rich in clinoptilolite and/or analcime. The deposits in Thrace are believed to have formed in an open hydrological system by the action of meteoric water, and those of the western Aegean islands in a similar way but under conditions of high heat flow, whereas the deposits in Samos were formed in a saline-alkaline lake.

Modeling sheep pox disease from the 1994-1998 epidemic in Evros Prefecture, Greece.

PubMed

Malesios, C; Demiris, N; Abas, Z; Dadousis, K; Koutroumanidis, T

2014-10-01

Sheep pox is a highly transmissible disease which can cause serious loss of livestock and can therefore have major economic impact. We present data from sheep pox epidemics which occurred between 1994 and 1998. The data include weekly records of infected farms as well as a number of covariates. We implement Bayesian stochastic regression models which, in addition to various explanatory variables like seasonal and environmental/meteorological factors, also contain serial correlation structure based on variants of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. We take a predictive view in model selection by utilizing deviance-based measures. The results indicate that seasonality and the number of infected farms are important predictors for sheep pox incidence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seeding Experiment of Liquid Carbon Dioxide for Enhancing Winter-time Precipitation in Saga Prefecture,Northern Kyushu,Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wakimizu, K.; Nishiyama, K.; Tomine, K.; Maki, T.; Suzuki, Y.; Morita, O.

2012-12-01

Many droughts (shortage of water) have broken out by extreme small amount rainfall in recent Japan. So far,in order to prevent these droughts,artificial rainfall methods with 'AgI' or 'dry ice' have been widely used in Japan. However,these methods have many problems,which a large amount of overcooling liquid in the cumulus cloud was not able to be converted into precipitation efficiently. So as to solve these problems,new artificial rainfall method using liquid carbon dioxide (LC) was proposed by Fukuta (1996). This new method consists of the generation of ice particles by homogeneous nucleation using LC and the subsequent more effective growth for ice particles without competition process. And, this method is called 'Low-Level Penetration Seeding of Homogeneous Ice Nucleant (LOLEPSHIN)' ; this induces a 'Roll-up Expansion of Twin Horizontal Ice-crystal Thermals (RETHIT)' and a subsequent 'Falling growth-Induced Lateral Air Spreading (FILAS)'. This LC method was applied to thin super-cooled cumulus clouds in Saga prefecture, Northern Kyushu, Japan on February 4,2006. The seeding airplane took off the Atugi Airport in Kanagawa Prefecture toward the Iki Island around 0830JST. Many cloud bands were cofirmed in the flight going to the experimental area and the cloud base temperature was approximately -9C (1200m). Scince some young developing thin cumuli were found over the Iki Island, LC seeding to these clouds was carried out two times from 0841JST until 0919JST penetrating the -9C (1200m) altitude. The first precipitation seeding ebded in failure. The second penetration seeding was done for 115 seconds around 0917JST. This penetration led to success of developing one artificial echo (Echo I) in the leeward side of the Iki Island. Eco I moved from NNW to SSW. The maximum area of Echo I were 48km2 (at 1033JST) and first comfirmed by the Kyushu University radar (KU radar) at 1006JST (46 min. after LC seeding) around Mt.Sefuri in Saga Prefecture. It can be inferred that

Peri-equatorial paleolatitudes for Jurassic radiolarian cherts of Greece

USGS Publications Warehouse

Aiello, I.W.; Hagstrum, J.T.; Principi, G.

2008-01-01

Radiolarian-rich sediments dominated pelagic deposition over large portions of the Tethys Ocean during middle to late Jurassic time as shown by extensive bedded chert sequences found in both continental margin and ophiolite units of the Mediterranean region. Which paleoceanographic mechanisms and paleotectonic setting favored radiolarian deposition during the Jurassic, and the nature of a Tethys-wide change from biosiliceous to biocalcareous (mainly nannofossil) deposition at the beginning of Cretaceous time, have remained open questions. Previous paleomagnetic analyses of Jurassic red radiolarian cherts in the Italian Apennines indicate that radiolarian deposition occurred at low peri-equatorial latitudes, similar to modern day deposition of radiolarian-rich sediments within equatorial zones of high biologic productivity. To test this result for other sectors of the Mediterranean region, we undertook paleomagnetic study of Mesozoic (mostly middle to upper Jurassic) red radiolarian cherts within the Aegean region on the Peloponnesus and in continental Greece. Sampled units are from the Sub-Pelagonian Zone on the Argolis Peninsula, the Pindos-Olonos Zone on the Koroni Peninsula, near Karpenissi in central Greece, and the Ionian Zone in the Varathi area of northwestern Greece. Thermal demagnetization of samples from all sections removed low-temperature viscous and moderate-temperature overprint magnetizations that fail the available fold tests. At Argolis and Koroni, however, the cherts carry a third high-temperature magnetization that generally exhibits a polarity stratigraphy and passes the available fold tests. We interpret the high-temperature component to be the primary magnetization acquired during chert deposition and early diagenesis. At Kandhia and Koliaky (Argolis), the primary declinations and previous results indicate clockwise vertical-axis rotations of ??? 40?? relative to "stable" Europe. Due to ambiguities in hemispheric origin (N or S) and thus

A Proposal of a Mass Appraisal System in Greece with CAMA System: Evaluating GWR and MRA techniques in Thessaloniki Municipality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimopoulos, Thomas; Moulas, Alexandros

2016-01-01

Property tax in Greece is levied since 1985 not on Market Values but on the "objective value" of the properties as it is defined by the Ministry of Economics. It forms a non-flexible system, with market-irrelevant and unrealistic values, inducing land-policy practices and potential political cost to each periodical update. Furthermore, instead of adjusting taxation levels to the current economic reality, the real estate market is experiencing further burdening through approximately 40 different property taxes and levies, leading to further shrinking and depreciation. The authors believe that a fairer taxation system could significantly assist the property sector in Greece. Thus, through this paper and by studying and analyzing best practices from other countries, they propose models that can be applied with the use of existing data in Greece. This work aims to identify the critical parameters that affecting property values in Thessaloniki to create a Market Value forecasting tool for a fairer taxation system, to highlight the importance of a GIS system for this purpose and to compare the results of MRA with the use of SPSS with those of GWR in ArcGIS environment. For the purposes of this study, the Municipality of Thessaloniki was chosen due to its very well organized portal with significant and well organized geographical data and because authors manage to access some data from the Central Bank of Greece, regarding property valuations.

A Proposal of a Mass Appraisal System in Greece with CAMA System: Evaluating GWR and MRA techniques in Thessaloniki Municipality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimopoulos, Thomas; Moulas, Alexandros

2017-01-01

Property tax in Greece is levied since 1985 not on Market Values but on the "objective value" of the properties as it is defined by the Ministry of Economics. It forms a non-flexible system, with market-irrelevant and unrealistic values, inducing land-policy practices and potential political cost to each periodical update. Furthermore, instead of adjusting taxation levels to the current economic reality, the real estate market is experiencing further burdening through approximately 40 different property taxes and levies, leading to further shrinking and depreciation. The authors believe that a fairer taxation system could significantly assist the property sector in Greece. Thus, through this paper and by studying and analyzing best practices from other countries, they propose models that can be applied with the use of existing data in Greece. This work aims to identify the critical parameters that affecting property values in Thessaloniki to create a Market Value forecasting tool for a fairer taxation system, to highlight the importance of a GIS system for this purpose and to compare the results of MRA with the use of SPSS with those of GWR in ArcGIS environment. For the purposes of this study, the Municipality of Thessaloniki was chosen due to its very well organized portal with significant and well organized geographical data and because authors manage to access some data from the Central Bank of Greece, regarding property valuations.

Mature Student Teachers in Initial Teacher Education in Greece: Personal and Academic Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaldi, Stavroula

2009-01-01

This qualitative study examined mature student teachers in initial teacher preparation for primary schools in Greece. More specifically it sought to identify the profile of mature student teachers, their intentions to become primary school teachers, their academic needs, concerns and expectations as well as their coping strategies across private…

Zoonotic Onchocerca lupi Infection in Dogs, Greece and Portugal, 2011–2012

PubMed Central

Dantas-Torres, Filipe; Giannelli, Alessio; Latrofa, Maria Stefania; Papadopoulos, Elias; Cardoso, Luís; Cortes, Helder

2013-01-01

Onchocerca lupi infection is reported primarily in symptomatic dogs. We aimed to determine the infection in dogs from areas of Greece and Portugal with reported cases. Of 107 dogs, 9 (8%) were skin snip–positive for the parasite. DNA sequences of parasites in specimens from distinct dog populations differed genetically from thoses in GenBank. PMID:24274145

Multiscale Modeling of Radioisotope Transfers in Watersheds, Rivers, Reservoirs and Ponds of Fukushima Prefecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheleznyak, M.; Kivva, S.; Nanba, K.; Wakiyama, Y.; Konoplev, A.; Onda, Y.; Gallego, E.; Papush, L.; Maderych, V.

2015-12-01

The highest densities of the radioisotopes in fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP in March 2011 were measured at the north eastern part of Fukushima Prefecture. The post-accidental aquatic transfer of cesium -134/137 includes multiscale processes: wash-off from the watersheds in solute and with the eroded soil, long-range transport in the rivers, deposition and resuspension of contaminated sediments in reservoirs and floodplains. The models of EU decision support system RODOS are used for predicting dynamics of 137Cs in the Fukushima surface waters and for assessing efficiency of the remediation measures. The transfer of 137Cs through the watershed of Niida River was simulated by DHSVM -R model that includes the modified code of the distributed hydrological and sediment transport model DHSVM (Lettenmayer, Wigmosta et al.) and new module of radionuclide transport. DHSMV-R was tested by modelling the wash-off from the USLE experimental plots in Fukushima prefecture. The model helps to quantify the influence of the differentiators of Fukushima and Chernobyl watersheds, - intensity of extreme precipitation and steepness of watershed, on the much higher values of the ratio "particulated cesium /soluted cesium" in Fukushima rivers than in Chernobyl rivers. Two dimensional model COASTOX and three dimensional model THREETOX are used to simulate the fate of 137Cs in water and sediments of reservoirs in the Manogawa River, Otagawa River, Mizunashigawa River, which transport 137Cs from the heavy contaminated watersheds to the populated areas at the Pacific coast. The modeling of the extreme floods generated by typhoons shows the resuspension of the bottom sediments from the heavy contaminated areas in reservoirs at the mouths of inflowing rivers at the peaks of floods and then re-deposition of 137Cs downstream in the deeper areas. The forecasts of 137Cs dynamics in bottom sediments of the reservoirs were calculated for the set of the scenarios of the sequences of the high

Studying the burden of community-acquired pneumonia in adults aged ⩾50 years in primary health care: an observational study in rural Crete, Greece

PubMed Central

Bertsias, Antonios; Tsiligianni, Ioanna G; Duijker, George; Siafakas, Nikolaos; Lionis, Christos

2014-01-01

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a potentially life-threatening condition that often requires hospitalisation particularly in the elderly population or in patients with comorbidities. Aims: The aims of this study were to estimate the CAP frequency and severity in a well-defined primary healthcare setting in rural Crete, to record patient characteristics, their immunisation status and to estimate hospitalisation frequency and determinants. Methods: An observational study was designed and implemented in a rural setting within the prefecture of Heraklion in the island of Crete, Greece. Eligible patients were those aged 50 years or above, presenting with CAP based on signs and symptoms and positive X-ray findings. Results: A total of 124 CAP cases were recorded, 40 of which (32.3%) were hospitalised. Τhe age-standardised CAP incidence was estimated to be 236.7 cases per 100,000 persons aged ⩾50 years. Forty-three patients (35.2%) were vaccinated against pneumococcus. The most frequent chronic illnesses were heart disease (64.5%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (32.5%), and type 2 diabetes (21%). Hospitalisation determinants included advanced age (⩾74 years, Odds ratio (OR) 7.13; P value=0.001; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.23–22.79), obesity (OR 3.36, P=0.037; 95% CI, 1.08–10.52), ⩾40 pack-years of smoking (OR 3.82, P value=0.040; 95% CI, 1.07–18.42), presence of multimorbidity (OR 5.77, P value=0.003; 95% CI, 1.81–18.42) and pneumococcal vaccination (OR 0.29, P value=0.041; 95% CI, 0.09–0.95). Conclusions: This study highlighted patient characteristics and aspects of CAP epidemiology in the context of a rural primary care setting in southern Europe where limited data have been published until now. PMID:24965889

The first official schools for nursing education in Greece: over a century of tradition.

PubMed

Tsoucalas, Gregory; Kousoulis, Antonis A; Karamanou, Marianna; Tsoucalas, Ioannis; Androutsos, George

2011-12-01

The pressing need for educated nursing staff in Greece was first recognized by Queen Olga and Crown Princess Sofia, at the end of the nineteenth century with significant international aid.As a result, the School of Nursing Sisters of the Sanatorium "Evangelismos" was founded in 1875 and the first Greek "School of Certified Nurses" of the "Saint Sophia" Children's Hospital was established in 1897. This Children's Hospital has provided Greece with excellent trained nurses in Pediatric as well as Neonatal and Infant Nursing ever since. Distinguished nurses from abroad as well as a plethora of professors and physicians have taught at the school which has effectively made a mark in forming a tradition until today. The international concept of the school, including enhancing the young nurses' practice with experience from abroad is one of its most interesting features. The first Greek nursing schools rank among the first in the world.

Health policy in interwar Greece: the intervention by the League of Nations Health Organisation.

PubMed

Theodorou, Vassiliki; Karakatsani, Despina

2008-01-01

The first serious attempts to deal with public health problems in Greece were undertaken between 1925 and 1935. This period also witnessed setbacks to developments in public health, caused by the lack of welfare infrastructure for social relief, as well as extensive health problems brought about by the settlement in Greece of 1,300,000 refugees from Asia Minor. In 1928 following the example set by other European countries, the Liberal Government appealed to international health organisations for support in order to effectively deal with these problems. This contribution constitutes a case study addressing the following issues: a) the impact the League of Nations Health Organisation intervention had on the establishment of public health services; b) the framework for a collaboration of the Rockefeller Foundation and the League of Nations Health Organisation; and c) the factors that led to the failure of the health care reorganisation.

[Surveillance report of drug-resistant bacteria from 2007 to 2012 in Saga Prefecture, Japan (the second report)].

PubMed

Kiyosuke, Makiko; Nagasawa, Zenzo; Hotta, Taeko; Utsumi, Takashi; Kang, Dongchon; Miyamoto, Hiroshi

2014-06-01

Drug-resistant bacteria are a problematic issue in Japan. Surveillance of drug-resistant bacteria is important because the frequency of isolation and kinds of such bacteria vary between hospitals and local areas. This study summarizes the results of detection of drug-resistant bacteria in Saga Prefecture from July 2007 to June 2012. Data presented in this study were collected through questionnaire survey that was conducted in 12 hospitals. Frequency of drug-resistant bacteria are as follows: 62.5% of Staphylococcus aureus was methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA); 62.2% of Streptococcus pneumoniae was penicillin-intermediate S. pneumoniae (PISP) or penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP); 26.4% of Haemophilus influenzae was beta-lactamase negative ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae (BLNAR); 0.5% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) P. aeruginosa; 0.5% of P. aeruginosa was multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa (MDRP); 12.9% and 5.1% of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, respectively, were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms. While the isolation frequencies of MRSA and PISP/PRSP were unchanged, those of BLNAR, ESBL producing E. coli and ESBL producing K. pneumoniae raised from 15.4% to 34.2%, from 5.7% to 18.4% and from 2.6% to 8.2%, respectively, over the past 5 years. The frequencies of isolation of MDRP and two drug resistant P. aeruginosa declined. This study revealed that the overall trend in the long-term changes of isolation frequency of drug-resistant bacteria in Saga Prefecture is similar to the trend in the national data. It also showed that the frequency and kinds of drug-resistant bacteria are variable between hospitals and local areas. Further study, such as examination of the usage and MIC value of antimicrobial drugs, will enable us to gain more detailed information on the drug-resistant bacteria.

Geological field study for science education on Elementary and Junior high school student, in Shimane prefecture, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, I.

2011-12-01

The importance of learning at field has been increasing in the elementary and the junior high school in Japan. And, an environmental education is one of the important subjects even in the school education, too. It was important, as for science education, understanding with actual feeling and learning were specified as for the Teaching outlines (the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) of the new science textbook of the elementary and the junior high school as well. However, It is a little actual situation that there is in an opportunity for the field learning enforced in the school lesson by the investigation of JST (Japan Science and Tecnology Agency). This tendency is strong as much as school of the city and that circumference. I have this cause think that there are a few suitable places for learning to observe geological and biological field near school. In addition, below two is pointed out as a big problem to obstruct the execution of field learning. 1) A natural experience isn't being done sufficient as much as a teacher can teach to the student. 2) It doesn't have the confidence that a teacher teaches a student geology and biology at the field. I introduce the practical example of geological field learning at the public elementary school of the Shimane prefecture by this research. Though it is the place where nature is comparatively rich even in Japan, it can't be said that field learning is popular in Shimane prefecture. A school teacher has to learning experience at field, and he must settle confidence to guide a student at the field. A specialist in the university and the museum must support continuous learning for that to the school teacher.

Suicide in southwestern Greece 1979-1984.

PubMed

Beratis, S

1986-11-01

Study of suicide in a province of southwestern Greece (population 295,000) from 1979 through 1984 demonstrated: mean suicide rate 0.48/10,000 population/year; significant increase of the suicide rate in men after the age of 65, but not in women; significantly higher suicide rate in men from rural than from urban areas; significantly higher suicide rate in men than in women from rural areas, no difference in urban areas; differences in suicide frequency or age at suicide were observed between subjects of different marital status; violent methods of suicide were most frequently used; and psychological disorders were the most frequent causes of suicide. Many of these findings are observed for the first time. Some may be related to the characteristics of the population studied, whereas others may also be present in other populations.

Occupational Dermatoses by Type of Work in Greece

PubMed Central

Zorba, Eleni; Karpouzis, Antony; Zorbas, Alexandros; Bazas, Theodore; Zorbas, Sam; Alexopoulos, Elias; Zorbas, Ilias; Kouskoukis, Konstantinos; Konstandinidis, Theodoros

2013-01-01

Background To elucidate the relationship between seven occupational dermatoses (ODs) and 20 types of work in Greece. Methods This was a prevalence epidemiologic study of certain ODs among 4,000 workers employed in 20 types of enterprise, in 104 companies, in 2006–2012, using data from company medical records, questionnaires, occupational medical, and special examinations. The χ2 test was applied to reveal statistically significant relationships between types of enterprises and occurrence of ODs. Results A high percentage (39.9%) of employees included in the study population suffered from ODs. The highest prevalence rates were noted among hairdressers (of contact dermatitis: 30%), cooks (of contact dermatitis: 29.5%), bitumen workers (of acne: 23.5%), car industry workers (of mechanical injury: 15%), construction workers (of contact urticaria: 29.5%), industrial cleaning workers (of chemical burns: 13%), and farmers (of malignant tumors: 5.5%). We observed several statistical significant correlations between ODs (acute and chronic contact dermatitis, urticaria, mechanical injury, acne, burns, skin cancer) and certain types of enterprises. There was no statistically significant correlation between gender and prevalence of ODs, except for dermatoses caused by mechanical injuries afflicting mainly men [χ2 (1) = 13.40, p < 0.001] and for chronic contact dermatitis [χ2 (1) = 5.53, p = 0.019] afflicting mainly women. Conclusion Prevalence of ODs is high in Greece, contrary to all official reports by the Greek National Institute of Health. There is a need to introduce a nationwide voluntary surveillance system for reporting ODs and to enhance skin protection measures at work. PMID:24106644

Evaluation of the Willingness for Cadaveric Donation in Greece: A Population-Based Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halou, Heidi; Chalkias, Athanasios; Mystrioti, Dimitra; Iacovidou, Nicoletta; Vasileiou, Panagiotis V.S.; Xanthos, Theodoros

2013-01-01

Despite the importance of body donation for medical education and the advancement of medical science, cadaveric donation remains suboptimal worldwide. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the willingness of body donation in Greece and determine the characteristics of donors. This cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted from January…

Exploring the Transition to Higher Education in Greece: Issues of Intergenerational Educational Mobility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Symeonaki, Maria A.; Stamatopoulou, Glykeria A.

2014-01-01

This article focuses on the study of intergenerational educational mobility in Greece. The primary purpose is to represent quantitatively the transitions of individuals, in order to determine whether and to what extent the educational levels attained are influenced by parental education. The authors use data drawn from the European Union…

Elements of Gender-Related Variability in the Selection of School Advisors in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anastasiou, Sophia; Papakonstantinou, Georgios

2011-01-01

Purpose: In many countries, including Greece, women are underrepresented in school management positions. Modern societies recognize sex inequalities in management as a significant social problem and implement human resource policies intended to reduce such problems. The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of gender inequality in the…

Survey of Preventable Disaster Deaths at Medical Institutions in Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: Retrospective Survey of Medical Institutions in Miyagi Prefecture.

PubMed

Yamanouchi, Satoshi; Sasaki, Hiroyuki; Kondo, Hisayoshi; Mase, Tomohiko; Otomo, Yasuhiro; Koido, Yuichi; Kushimoto, Shigeki

2017-10-01

Introduction In 2015, the authors reported the results of a preliminary investigation of preventable disaster deaths (PDDs) at medical institutions in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011). This initial survey considered only disaster base hospitals (DBHs) and hospitals that had experienced at least 20 patient deaths in Miyagi Prefecture (Japan); therefore, hospitals that experienced fewer than 20 patient deaths were not investigated. This was an additional study to the previous survey to better reflect PDD at hospitals across the entire prefecture. Of the 147 hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture, the 14 DBHs and 82 non-DBHs that agreed to participate were included in an on-site survey. A database was created based on the medical records of 1,243 patient deaths that occurred between March 11, 2011 and April 1, 2011, followed by determination of their status as PDDs. A total of 125 cases of PDD were identified among the patients surveyed. The rate of PDD was significantly higher at coastal hospitals than inland hospitals (17.3% versus 6.3%; P<.001). Preventable disaster deaths in non-DBHs were most numerous in facilities with few general beds, especially among patients hospitalized before the disaster in hospitals with fewer than 100 beds. Categorized by area, the most frequent causes of PDD were: insufficient medical resources, disrupted lifelines, delayed medical intervention, and deteriorated environmental conditions in homes and emergency shelters in coastal areas; and were delayed medical intervention and disrupted lifelines in inland areas. Categorized by hospital function, the most frequent causes were: delayed medical intervention, deteriorated environmental conditions in homes and emergency shelters, and insufficient medical resources at DBHs; while those at non-DBHs were disrupted lifelines, insufficient medical resources, delayed medical intervention, and lack of capacity for transport within the area. Preventable disaster death at medical

Shame and Anxiety Feelings of a Roma Population in Greece.

PubMed

Gouva, M; Mentis, M; Kotrotsiou, S; Paralikas, Th; Kotrotsiou, E

2015-12-01

Shame is a crucial issue for Roma. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the severity of shame and anxiety feelings in a Roma population living in Greece and assess the differentiation of these feelings between Roma men and women. A quota sample of 194 Roma adult men and women living in Southern Greece was retrieved. The Experiences of Shame Scale (ESS), the Other As Shamer Scale (OAS) and the Spielberg's State/Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaires were used. Women scored statistically significantly higher than men on ESS, whereas men scored higher on OAS scale (52.27 ± 16.91 vs 45.42 ± 9.98 and 35.93 ± 16.94 vs 30.87 ± 13.72 respectively). Women scored higher than men in both STAI subscales, however significant differences were observed only in State Anxiety scale (48.83 ± 9.26 vs 43.20 ± 9.81). OAS total score was inversely related to state anxiety, whereas ESS total score was positive related to trait anxiety, all correlations being significant at p < 0.05 level. Roma men and women exhibit high levels of shame and anxiety. Cultural, social and minority issues contribute to feelings of inferiority and anxiety experience.

Support de la famille dans l'education: Quelques aspects de la realite grecque (Support of the Family for Education: Aspects of the Situation in Greece).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varnava-Skoura, Gella

1992-01-01

Describes extended family structure in Greece and offers a profile of the family backgrounds of university students. Finds that the cultural capital and sociolinguistic codes of families are not determining factors for university entry in Greece. University students come from clerical and mixed families, who are willing to make necessary financial…

Attitudes of nurses in Greece towards influenza vaccination.

PubMed

Raftopoulos, Vasilios

To explore the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of nurses in Greece towards influenza vaccination. Four focus groups were conducted with 30 nurses. Content analysis of the focus group interviews was undertaken. Participants were knowledgeable about influenza and the influenza vaccination. The main reasons given for not being vaccinated were: being in good health, not being susceptible to influenza, thinking it was not needed, concern about its effectiveness, delayed availability and distribution of influenza vaccines, fear of vaccine-induced illness, and lack of support regarding the provision of information on the benefits of influenza immunisation. Targeted health education programmes should be developed to overcome misconceptions about influenza vaccination.

Late Palaeozoic-Cenozoic assembly of the Tethyan orogen in the light of evidence from Greece and Albania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, A. H. F.

2012-04-01

The objective here is to use the geology and tectonics of a critical part of the Tethyan orogen, represented by Greece and Albania, to shed light on the tectonic development of Tethys on a regional, to global scale, particularly the history of convergence during Late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic time. For Carboniferous time much evidence suggests that the Korabi-Pelagonian crustal unit as exposed in Albania and Greece formed above a northward-dipping subduction zone along the Eurasia continental margin, with Palaeotethys to the south. However, there is also some evidence of southward subduction beneath Gondwana especially from southern Greece and central southern Turkey. Palaeotethys is inferred to have closed in Europe as far to the east as the longitude of Libya, while remaining open beyond this. There is still uncertainty about the Pangea A-type reconstruction that would restore all of the present units in the area to within the E Mediterranean region, versus the Pangea B-type reconstruction that would require right-lateral displacement of exotic terranes, by up to 3,500 km eastwards. In either reconstruction, fragments of the Variscan collisional orogen are likely to have been displaced eastwards (variable distances) in the Balkan region prior to Late Permian-Early Triassic time. From ~Late Permian, the Greece-Albania crustal units were located in their present relative position within Tethys as a whole. From the mid-Permian, onwards the northern margin of Gondwana was affected by crustal extension. A Mesozoic ocean (Pindos-Mirdita ocean) then rifted during Early-Middle Triassic time, culminating in final continental break-up and seafloor spreading during the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian). Subduction-influenced volcanics of mainly Early-Middle Triassic age probably reflect the extraction of magma from sub-continental lithosphere that was enriched in subduction-related fluids and volatiles during an earlier, ?Variscan subduction event. The existence of Upper Triassic

Greece's health crisis: from austerity to denialism.

PubMed

Kentikelenis, Alexander; Karanikolos, Marina; Reeves, Aaron; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David

2014-02-22

Greece's economic crisis has deepened since it was bailed out by the international community in 2010. The country underwent the sixth consecutive year of economic contraction in 2013, with its economy shrinking by 20% between 2008 and 2012, and anaemic or no growth projected for 2014. Unemployment has more than tripled, from 7·7% in 2008 to 24·3% in 2012, and long-term unemployment reached 14·4%. We review the background to the crisis, assess how austerity measures have affected the health of the Greek population and their access to public health services, and examine the political response to the mounting evidence of a Greek public health tragedy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Greece Financial Crisis and Quality of Life.

PubMed

Mechili, Aggelos E; Kalokairinou, Athena; Kaitelidou, Dafni; Diomidous, Marianna

2015-01-01

The last six years the global community is facing an economic crisis that first appeared in USA. This crisis has a lot of impacts especially in health sector. Unemployment, job insecurity and the loss of disposable income have a significant impact in health too. The main objective of this research was to investigate the quality of life of the general population in Greece during the financial crisis. To collect the data it has been used the Greek version of Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36v2). In general, income, level of education, cohabitation and parenthood had a significant impact in quality of life. As a conclusion, unemployed participants' score was lower in the entire dimensions and in the two summary scales too.

Rabies in Greece; historical perspectives in view of the current re-emergence in wild and domestic animals.

PubMed

Tsiodras, Sotirios; Korou, Laskarina-Maria; Tzani, Myrsini; Tasioudi, Konstantia E; Kalachanis, Kostantinos; Mangana-Vougiouka, Olga; Rigakos, George; Dougas, George; Seimenis, Aristarchos M; Kontos, Vassileios

2014-01-01

Greece has been rabies free since 1987 while no human cases have been seen since 1970. The re-emergence of rabies in Northern Greece during 2012-2013 in wild and domestic animals prompted a systematic review of historical evidence of the presence of the disease in the country from ancient years till the present. Historical data is presented along with efforts to prevent disease in animals and humans especially during the high prevalent periods in the country in the mid-20th century. These efforts serve as a guide to current extensive efforts to prevent spread especially in the wild and domestic animal populations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Serological markers of Hepatitis B and C among juvenile immigrants from Albania settled in Greece.

PubMed

Milionis, Charalampos

2010-12-01

Greece is a place of settlement for a large number of immigrants, particularly from Albania, which constitute special community groups for public health policies. This study was designed to assess the seroprevalence of serological markers for Hepatitis B and C among juvenile immigrants from Albania settled in Greece. The study population included 504 subjects, 418 males and 86 females, aged 10-23 years old who have emigrated from Albania to Pogoniani-Greece and participated voluntarily in vaccination programmes against Hepatitis B. The serum samples were examined with enzyme immune assays for the immunological markers HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBs and anti-HCV. HBsAg positive samples were further tested for IgM anti-HBc, HBeAg and anti-HBe. Among the examined subjects, 40.5% were found positive for anti-HBc, indicating an HBV contamination. Specifically, 11.7% were carriers of HBsAg, whereas 28.8% were negative for HBsAg but positive for anti-HBc. Only 6.5% was positive exclusively for anti-HBs. The rest (53.0%) presented no positive serological markers. Among the HBsAg positive patients, 8.5% were found positive for HBeAg, while 5.1% was positive for IgM anti-HBc. Finally, only 0.6% of the sample presented antibodies against HCV. The examined migratory population is described by a high prevalence of Hepatitis B. Therefore, specific public health measures are necessary. However, no data was found that indicate potential public health dangers regarding hepatitis C.

Early Childhood Care and Education in Greece: Some Facts on Research and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petrogiannis, Konstantinos

2010-01-01

Despite the increasing demand for early child care and education (ECCE) services in Greece, the availability of such services continues to be rather limited compared to other European countries. In accordance, the relevant research, especially for children under 3 years of age, is almost nonexistent. This article discusses in brief some findings…

Crisis Management for Secondary Education: A Survey of Secondary Education Directors in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savelides, Socrates; Mihiotis, Athanassios; Koutsoukis, Nikitas-Spiros

2015-01-01

Purpose: The Greek secondary education system lacks a formal crisis management system. The purpose of this paper is to address this problem as follows: elicit current crisis management practices, outline features for designing a formal crisis management system in Greece. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on a survey conducted with…

Rabies outbreak in Greece during 2012-2014: use of Geographical Information System for analysis, risk assessment and control.

PubMed

Giannakopoulos, A; Valiakos, G; Papaspyropoulos, K; Dougas, G; Korou, L M; Tasioudi, K E; Fthenakis, G C; Hutchings, M R; Kaimaras, D; Tsokana, C N; Iliadou, P; Spyrou, V; Tzani, M; Birtsas, P; Kostoglou, P; Sokos, C; Doudounakis, S; Yon, L; Hannant, D; Artois, M; Tsiodras, S; Hadjichristodoulou, C; Billinis, C

2016-10-01

The objectives of this work were (i) geographical analysis of the 2012-2014 outbreak of rabies in Greece using GIS and (ii) comparative analysis of animal cases with data of potential human exposure to rabies together with environmental data, in order to provide information for risk assessment, effective monitoring and control. Most animal cases (40/48) involved red foxes, while domestic animals were also diagnosed with rabies. Overall, 80% of the cases were diagnosed in central northern Greece; 75% of the cases were diagnosed in low altitudes (<343·5 m), within a distance of 1 km from human settlements. Median distance from livestock farms was 201·25 m. Most people potentially exposed to rabies (889/1060) presented with dog bite injuries. Maximum entropy analysis revealed that distance from farms contributed the highest percentage in defining environmental niche profiles for rabid foxes. Oral vaccination programmes were implemented in 24 administrative units of the country during 2013 and 2014, covering a total surface area of ~60 000 km2. Rabies re-occurrence in Greece emphasizes the need for ongoing surveillance in cross-border areas and in areas with intense human activity.

Representativeness of individual external doses estimated for one quarter of residents in the Fukushima Prefecture after the nuclear disaster: the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

PubMed

Ishikawa, Tetsuo; Takahashi, Hideto; Yasumura, Seiji; Ohtsuru, Akira; Sakai, Akira; Ohira, Tetsuya; Sakata, Ritsu; Ozasa, Kotaro; Akahane, Keiichi; Yonai, Shunsuke; Kurihara, Osamu; Kamiya, Kenji; Abe, Masafumi

2017-09-25

After the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) was launched. The Basic Survey, a component of FHMS, is a questionnaire used to survey residents across the Fukushima Prefecture about their behaviour in the first 4 months after the accident. The questionnaire findings are used to determine individual external doses by linking behaviour data to a computer programme with daily gamma ray dose rate maps, drawn after the accident. Through 30 June 2015, the response rate was only 27.2% (558 550 population), indicating that the findings might not be generalisable because of poor representativeness of the population. The objective of this study was to clarify if the data from the FHMS Basic Survey were representative of the entire population, by conducting a new survey to compare the external doses between non-respondents and respondents in the previous survey. A total of 5350 subjects were randomly selected from 7 local regions of Fukushima Prefecture. An interview survey was conducted with the non-respondents to the FHMS Basic Survey. A total of 990 responses were obtained from the previous non-responders by interview survey. For the regions Kempoku, Kenchu, Kennan, Aizu, Minami-Aizu, Soso, and Iwaki, differences in mean effective dose (95% confidence interval) in mSv between the non-responders and previous responders were 0.12 (0.01-0.23), -0.09 (-0.21-0.03), -0.06 (-0.18-0.07), 0.05 (-0.04-0.14), 0.01 (-0.01-0.02), 0.09 (0.01-0.17), 0.09 (0.00-0.17), respectively. The differences fall neither within the interval (-∞, -0.25) nor within the interval (0.25, ∞). These findings imply that mean effective doses between the previous and new respondents were not different, with a significantly indifferent region of 0.25 mSv according to equivalence tests. The present study indicates that the dose distribution obtained from about one-quarter of Fukushima residents represents the dose distribution for the entire

Major depression amid financial crisis in Greece: Will unemployment narrow existing gender differences in the prevalence of the disorder in Greece?

PubMed

Economou, Marina; Angelopoulos, E; Peppou, Lily Evangelia; Souliotis, Kyriakos; Stefanis, Costas

2016-08-30

Rises in unemployment as a corollary to the global economic crisis may impinge on the prevalence of depression disproportionally for the two genders. Therefore, differences in the prevalence of the disorder as a function of gender and age were explored in four nationwide surveys in Greece in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013. Results indicate that in 2013, men of productive age had a higher prevalence of major depression than women, in contrast to the epidemiology of the disorder. The psychiatry community should be in tune to future changes in the mental health landscape elicited by the social fermentation processes of the global recession. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

The Sirius Cult in Ancient Greece. Aristaios and the Formation of the Attico-Cycladic Mythological Substratum.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laoupi, A.

Pivotal figure of Sirius myth among the inhabitants of Late Bronze Age Greece (ca.1600-1100 B.C.) is Aristaios protector of the shepherds and hunters teacher of cheese-making and the art of hunting , of oil-making and bee-keeping , honey and honey - mead, god of medicinal herbs and the cooling Etesian winds of mid-summer. The aim of this paper is to detect a) the inventors of Sirius astromyth within the boundaries of prehistoric Greek maritime Civilization (the Pelasgian substratum), b)the geographical distribution of this myth via its main divine figure (colonization of Western Mediterranean and the Prehistoric trade of silphium with the North African Coast , Kadmos and cultural relationships with Eastern Mediterranean connection with Thesaly, Northern Greece, Arcadia, Argos, Attica, Minoan Crete and Cyclades, N.W. Greece), c)the elements of Sirius cult worshipped by the insular population of the Aegean, d)the historical pathway of this astromyth and its survival to the later periods of Cycladic history (Keians coins, Keian traditions, modern Keian names and localities) e)the immigration of its symbols (the hunting lion, the motif of the dogs, deities with fertilizing and creative properties) and f) the environmental setting which gave birth to this astromyth (disturbance of wind patterns, teleconnections with Indian monsoons and NAO, climatic oscillations, pestilence in Eastern Mediterranean).

Studies of felonious crimes by the University Department of Forensic Medicine in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.

PubMed

Tsunenari, S; Kibayashi, K; Honjyo, K; Hamada, C

1993-01-01

This paper gives an understanding of Japan in the respect of forensic medicine. The fight against felonious crimes in Kumamoto is introduced by reference to the police system, crime statistics, an association of police surgeons and medico-legal autopsy in Kumamoto Prefecture. The police have 23 local police stations with 2,670 police officers and the unique Hashutsu-sho and Chyuzai-sho systems. The crime rate is not very high, but crimes committed by Yakuza groups and traffic accidents are major problems in Kumamoto. Medico-legal autopsy is performed in the university department on only criminal and suspected cases after examination of the body externally by a police surgeon. Two illustrative cases are also introduced in this report, which shows good cooperation among the police force, the university department of forensic medicine, and police surgeons in Kumamoto, Japan.

The Emergency Medical System in Greece: Opening Aeolus’ Bag of Winds

PubMed Central

Kotsiou, Ourania S.; Srivastava, David S.; Kotsios, Panagiotis; Exadaktylos, Aristomenis K.; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos I.

2018-01-01

An Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system must encompass a spectrum of care, with dedicated pre-hospital and in-hospital medical facilities. It has to be organised in such a way as to include all necessary services—such as triage accurate initial assessment, prompt resuscitation, efficient management of emergency cases, and transport to definitive care. The global economic downturn has had a direct effect on the health sector and poses additional threats to the healthcare system. Greece is one of the hardest-hit countries. This manuscript aims to present the structure of the Greek EMS system and the impact of the current economic recession on it. Nowadays, primary care suffers major shortages in crucial equipment, unmet health needs, and ineffective central coordination. Patients are also facing economic limitations that lead to difficulties in using healthcare services. The multi-factorial problem of in-hospital EMS overcrowding is also evident and has been linked with potentially poorer clinical outcomes. Furthermore, the ongoing refugee crisis challenges the national EMS. Adoption of a triage scale, expansion of the primary care network, and an effective primary–hospital continuum of care are urgently needed in Greece to provide comprehensive, culturally competent, and high-quality health care. PMID:29652816

The Emergency Medical System in Greece: Opening Aeolus' Bag of Winds.

PubMed

Kotsiou, Ourania S; Srivastava, David S; Kotsios, Panagiotis; Exadaktylos, Aristomenis K; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos I

2018-04-13

An Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system must encompass a spectrum of care, with dedicated pre-hospital and in-hospital medical facilities. It has to be organised in such a way as to include all necessary services—such as triage accurate initial assessment, prompt resuscitation, efficient management of emergency cases, and transport to definitive care. The global economic downturn has had a direct effect on the health sector and poses additional threats to the healthcare system. Greece is one of the hardest-hit countries. This manuscript aims to present the structure of the Greek EMS system and the impact of the current economic recession on it. Nowadays, primary care suffers major shortages in crucial equipment, unmet health needs, and ineffective central coordination. Patients are also facing economic limitations that lead to difficulties in using healthcare services. The multi-factorial problem of in-hospital EMS overcrowding is also evident and has been linked with potentially poorer clinical outcomes. Furthermore, the ongoing refugee crisis challenges the national EMS. Adoption of a triage scale, expansion of the primary care network, and an effective primary–hospital continuum of care are urgently needed in Greece to provide comprehensive, culturally competent, and high-quality health care.

Political and Pedagogical Dimensions in Holocaust Education: Teacher Seminars and Staff Development in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balodimas-Bartolomei, Angelyn

2016-01-01

The present study examines Holocaust education and professional teacher development in Greece. It briefly reviews the history of Greek Jewry and the stance and significance of Holocaust education within the Greek education system from historical, political, and pedagogical dimensions. The study also compares various approaches, themes, and…

Cross-border reproductive care among French patients: experiences in Greece, Spain and Belgium.

PubMed

Rozée Gomez, Virginie; de La Rochebrochard, Elise

2013-11-01

What are the characteristics, motivation and experience of French patients seeking cross-border reproductive care (CBRC)? French patients seeking CBRC are same-sex couples, single women who are not eligible for assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) in France and heterosexual couples seeking oocyte donation due to extremely limited access to this technique in France, while their choice of Greece as a destination is influenced by financial issues. CBRC is a new, increasing, complex and poorly understood phenomenon. A few studies have investigated UK, German or Italian CBRC patients, but none have specifically investigated French patients although France is one of the top four countries of origin of CBRC patients in Europe. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2010-2012 in three ART centres in Greece, Belgium and Spain in order to investigate French patients treated in these centres. Recruitment was prospective in Greece and Belgium and retrospective in Spain. The overall response rate was 68%, with 128 French patients participating. French patients filled in a questionnaire. Information was collected on their socio-economic characteristics and their search for ART treatment in France and in other countries. In the Belgian centre, 89% of French patients used sperm donation whereas oocyte donation was used by 100% of patients in the Greek centre and 74% of patients in the Spanish centre. The majority (94%) of French patients using sperm donation in Belgium were not legally eligible for access to ART in France as they were same-sex couples or single women, and the main criterion of choice of centre was its geographical proximity (71%). Most of the French patients using oocyte donation in Greece and Spain fulfilled criteria for fully reimbursed oocyte donation treatment in France as they were heterosexual couples (99%) with the woman aged <43 years (65%). For these couples, CBRC was motivated by the extremely limited access to oocyte donation in France. Half of

Distribution of trace elements in sediment and soil from river Vardar Basin, Macedonia/Greece.

PubMed

Popov, Stanko Ilić; Stafilov, Trajče; Šajn, Robert; Tănăselia, Claudiu

2016-01-01

A systematic study was carried out to investigate the distribution of 59 elements in the sediment and soil samples collected from the river Vardar (Republic of Macedonia and Greece) and its major tributaries. The samples were collected from 28 sampling sites. Analyses were performed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. R-mode factor analysis (FA) was used to identify and characterise element associations. Seven associations of elements were determined by the method of multivariate statistics. Every factor (Factors 1-3 and 6 and 7 as geogenic and Factors 4 and 5 as anthropogenic associations of elements) are examined and explained separately. The distribution of various elements showed that there is a presence of anthropogenic elements (Ag, Cd, Cu, Ge, Pb, Sn and Zn) introduced in the river sediments and soils from the mining, metallurgical, industrial and agricultural activities in Vardar River Basin, which covers most of the Republic of Macedonia and Central-northern part of Greece.

State-space based analysis and forecasting of macroscopic road safety trends in Greece.

PubMed

Antoniou, Constantinos; Yannis, George

2013-11-01

In this paper, macroscopic road safety trends in Greece are analyzed using state-space models and data for 52 years (1960-2011). Seemingly unrelated time series equations (SUTSE) models are developed first, followed by richer latent risk time-series (LRT) models. As reliable estimates of vehicle-kilometers are not available for Greece, the number of vehicles in circulation is used as a proxy to the exposure. Alternative considered models are presented and discussed, including diagnostics for the assessment of their model quality and recommendations for further enrichment of this model. Important interventions were incorporated in the models developed (1986 financial crisis, 1991 old-car exchange scheme, 1996 new road fatality definition) and found statistically significant. Furthermore, the forecasting results using data up to 2008 were compared with final actual data (2009-2011) indicating that the models perform properly, even in unusual situations, like the current strong financial crisis in Greece. Forecasting results up to 2020 are also presented and compared with the forecasts of a model that explicitly considers the currently on-going recession. Modeling the recession, and assuming that it will end by 2013, results in more reasonable estimates of risk and vehicle-kilometers for the 2020 horizon. This research demonstrates the benefits of using advanced state-space modeling techniques for modeling macroscopic road safety trends, such as allowing the explicit modeling of interventions. The challenges associated with the application of such state-of-the-art models for macroscopic phenomena, such as traffic fatalities in a region or country, are also highlighted. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that it is possible to apply such complex models using the relatively short time-series that are available in macroscopic road safety analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative Study of Cognitive Styles in Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong and the UK.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savvas, Michael; El-Kot, Ghada; Sadler-Smith, Eugene

2001-01-01

Cognitive Style Inventory scores for business undergraduates in Greece (n=48), Egypt (n=45), and the United Kingdom (n=42) and postgraduates/managers in Egypt (n=20), Hong Kong (n=38) and the United Kingdom (n=21) indicated that, among undergraduates of different cultures, there were no significant style differences. Some differences in the…

Wildfire risk assessment in a typical Mediterranean wildland-urban interface of Greece.

PubMed

Mitsopoulos, Ioannis; Mallinis, Giorgos; Arianoutsou, Margarita

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to assess spatial wildfire risk in a typical Mediterranean wildland-urban interface (WUI) in Greece and the potential effect of three different burning condition scenarios on the following four major wildfire risk components: burn probability, conditional flame length, fire size, and source-sink ratio. We applied the Minimum Travel Time fire simulation algorithm using the FlamMap and ArcFuels tools to characterize the potential response of the wildfire risk to a range of different burning scenarios. We created site-specific fuel models of the study area by measuring the field fuel parameters in representative natural fuel complexes, and we determined the spatial extent of the different fuel types and residential structures in the study area using photointerpretation procedures of large scale natural color orthophotographs. The results included simulated spatially explicit fire risk components along with wildfire risk exposure analysis and the expected net value change. Statistical significance differences in simulation outputs between the scenarios were obtained using Tukey's significance test. The results of this study provide valuable information for decision support systems for short-term predictions of wildfire risk potential and inform wildland fire management of typical WUI areas in Greece.

Wildfire Risk Assessment in a Typical Mediterranean Wildland-Urban Interface of Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitsopoulos, Ioannis; Mallinis, Giorgos; Arianoutsou, Margarita

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to assess spatial wildfire risk in a typical Mediterranean wildland-urban interface (WUI) in Greece and the potential effect of three different burning condition scenarios on the following four major wildfire risk components: burn probability, conditional flame length, fire size, and source-sink ratio. We applied the Minimum Travel Time fire simulation algorithm using the FlamMap and ArcFuels tools to characterize the potential response of the wildfire risk to a range of different burning scenarios. We created site-specific fuel models of the study area by measuring the field fuel parameters in representative natural fuel complexes, and we determined the spatial extent of the different fuel types and residential structures in the study area using photointerpretation procedures of large scale natural color orthophotographs. The results included simulated spatially explicit fire risk components along with wildfire risk exposure analysis and the expected net value change. Statistical significance differences in simulation outputs between the scenarios were obtained using Tukey's significance test. The results of this study provide valuable information for decision support systems for short-term predictions of wildfire risk potential and inform wildland fire management of typical WUI areas in Greece.

The economic burden of treating neonates in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Greece

PubMed Central

Geitona, Mary; Hatzikou, Magdalini; Hatzistamatiou, Zoi; Anastasiadou, Aggeliki; Theodoratou, Theodora D

2007-01-01

Background In a period when a public-private mix in Greece is under consideration and hospital budgets become restrained, economic assessment is important for rational decision making. The study aimed to estimate the hospitalization cost of neonates admitted to the ICUs and demonstrate discrepancies with reimbursement. Methods Chosen methodology was based on the selection of medical records of all NICUs and intermediate care admissions within February to April 2004. Neonates (n = 99) were classified according to birthweight and gestational age. Results Mean cost per infant was estimated at €5.485 while reimbursement from social funds arises to €3.952. Costs per birthweight or gestational age show an inverse relationship. Personnel costs accounted for 59.9%, followed by enteral/parenteral feeding (16.14%) and pharmaceuticals expenses (11.10%) of all resources consumed. Sensitivity analysis increases the robustness of the results Conclusion Neonatal intensive care in Greece is associated with significant costs that exceed reimbursement from social funds. Reimbursement should be adjusted to make neonatal intensive care economically viable to private hospitals and thus, increase capacity of the services provided. PMID:17634126

Health inequalities after austerity in Greece.

PubMed

Karanikolos, Marina; Kentikelenis, Alexander

2016-05-31

Since the beginning of economic crisis, Greece has been experiencing unprecedented levels of unemployment and profound cuts to public budgets. Health and welfare sectors were subject to severe austerity measures, which have endangered provision of as well as access to services, potentially widening health inequality gap. European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions data show that the proportion of individuals on low incomes reporting unmet medical need due to cost doubled from 7 % in 2008 to 13.9 % in 2013, while the relative gap in access to care between the richest and poorest population groups increased almost ten-fold. In addition, austerity cuts have affected other vulnerable groups, such as undocumented migrants and injecting drug users. Steps have been taken in attempt to mitigate the impact of the austerity, however addressing the growing health inequality gap will require persistent effort of the country's leadership for years to come.

The use of Pb isotopes to differentiate between contemporary and ancient sources of pollution in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Åberg, G.; Charalampides, G.; Fosse, G.; Hjelmseth, H.

Stable lead isotopes are used to illustrate the relation source-receptor and to differentiate between sources of pollution in Greece. Air filters collected in the Kozani-Ptolemais lignite mining area, West Macedonia, point to an impact from gasoline lead as well as lead from the combustion of lignite. This is supported by lead isotope data of wheat grown on reclaimed land. Lead isotope analyses of contemporary teeth from the Lavrio sulphide mining area, southeast of Greece, show the imprint of previous mining activities as well as traffic emissions. Moreover, the Lavrio teeth can be distinguished from one tooth from Athens; the Athens tooth show a stronger impact of gasoline lead. Lead data also imply that the Greek top soil is contaminated by air pollution from earlier sulphide mining and smelting since Hellenic and Roman times.

Natural disaster-induced environmental migration from the Indian subcontinent resulting in malaria outbreak in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mavrouli, Maria; Mavroulis, Spyridon; Piperaki, Evangelia-Theofano; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Tsakris, Athanassios

2017-04-01

Extreme hydrometeorological disasters such as floods and hurricanes can severely damage human life, natural and built environment and economic development. Consequently, they can result in environmental migration (EM). In case of infectious disease (ID) outbreaks during the post-disaster period and subsequent EM, environmental refugees from endemic regions serve as ID carriers to their new residence sites altering the spatial ID distribution and incidence. The continuous massive influx of environmental refugees from malaria endemic regions to non-endemic ones can build up a parasite reservoir among naive host populations. Initially, serum specimens were collected in 2012 from asymptomatic individuals, 298 Greeks and 721 immigrants residing in areas of documented local malaria transmission in Laconia (Southern Peloponnese) and in Eastern Attica, Greece. Sera were tested for antibodies against Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum using the Malaria-Ab ELISA (IBL International GMBH, Hamburg, Germany). Taking into account that Greece has been declared malaria free by the WHO since 1974, we conducted an extensive and systematic literature review related to natural disasters leading among others to increased malaria risk in Indian Subcontinent and respective forced EM in order to detect relative possible causes of reintroduction and localized outbreaks of malaria in Greece. Regarding the country of origin, information was available for 685 (95%) of the 721 immigrants. Of the 678 immigrants from Indian Subcontinent, 627 (92.5%) originated from Pakistan, 24 (3.53%) Afghanistan, 24 (3.53%) India and 3 (0.44%) Bangladesh. Of the 721 immigrants, 582 and 124 resided in Laconia and Eastern Attica respectively. Seventy-one immigrants residing in Laconia and 14 in Eastern Attica were positive for antimalarial antibodies, while none of the 298 Greeks residing in Laconia (N=248) and Attica (N=50) was found positive. Based on already published scientific data, Pakistan has been exposed

Drought, flood and rainfall analysis under climate change in Crete, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapoglou, Evdokia; Vozinaki, Anthi-Eirini; Tsanis, Ioannis; Nerantzaki, Sofia; Nikolaidis, Nikolaos

2017-04-01

In this study an analysis on the drought frequency and magnitude under climate change in Crete, Greece is performed. The analysis was performed for the time period from 1983-2100, divided into three sub-periods (1983-1999, 2000-2049 and 2050-2099) for inter-comparison. Two climate models were studied MPI-ESM-LR-r1-CSC-REMO and EC-EARTH-r12-SMHI-RCA4, following three possible representative concentration pathways (+2.6, +4.5 and +8.5 W/m2). In order to perform the analysis the results of a SWAT simulation which covered the entity of Crete using 352 subbasins, was used. Drought events are recognized by using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) to identify the meteorological drought events and Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) for hydrological droughts. SPI and SRI drought indices, were used in order to identify the number of drought events for each climate model and scenario. In all cases, an increase in both severity and number of drought events was calculated for the future periods, compared to the baseline period 1983-1999. This increase was smaller for the +2.6 W/m2 scenario and largest for the +8.5 W/m2. The magnitude of events with 10 and 100 years return period was calculated for the subbasins of Crete and the most vulnerable were identified, both in terms of severity and the change throughout the years in index magnitude. Next a flood frequency analysis was performed for the entity of Crete Island in order to calculate the magnitude of events with 10 and 100 years return period. In order to perform the flood frequency analysis, the results of the SWAT simulation in terms of runoff in each subbasin are used. By calculating the magnitude of flood events with 10 and 100 years return period and the change in the magnitude throughout the time periods the most vulnerable subbasins are identified. The same frequency analysis was performed for the precipitation at each subbasin, and the magnitude of extreme precipitation events with 10 and 100 years return

Satellite spectral data and archaeological reconnaissance in western Greece

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, Frederick A.; Bauer, M. E.; Cullen, Brenda C.

1991-01-01

A Macro-geographical reconnaissance of the Western Peloponnesos adopts spectral signatures taken by Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper as a new instrument of archaeological survey in Greece. Ancient records indicate that indigenous resources contributed to the prosperity of the region. Natural resources and Ancient, Medieval, and Pre-modern Folklife in the Western Peloponnesos describes the principal lines of research. For a supervised classification of attested ancient resources, a variety of biophysical surface features were pinpointed: stone quarries, coal mines, forests of oak and silver fir, terracotta-producing clay beds, crops, and various wild but exploited shrubs such as flax.

National Testing of Pupils in Europe: Objectives, Organisation and Use of Results. Greece 2009

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eurydice, 2009

2009-01-01

Pupil assessment procedures and methods in Greece are set and "standardized" externally by the central authorities as defined in the legislative framework, the National Curriculum guidelines and teachers' manuals, while implementation is internal to the schools. The focus of primary schools is on formative assessment, while the lower…

Multicultural/Intercultural Education Issues in Pre-Service Teacher Education Courses: The Case of Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palaiologou, Nektaria; Dimitriadou, Catherine

2013-01-01

Teachers' education on Multicultural/Intercultural education issues constitutes a central field in the education of future teachers, i.e. the undergraduate students who attend educational studies at Pedagogical Departments. In this article we present the case of Greece, a southern European country, where Teachers' education on Intercultural issues…

Overeducation in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrinos, Harry Anthony

1997-03-01

While much has been written lately on overeducation, little is known about the effect of socioeconomic background on the incidence of overeducation and its impact on earnings. In this paper, the question of socioeconomic background is taken up and estimates of the incidence and labor market impacts of overeducation are examined with data from Greece. It is estimated that 16 percent of the university educated labor force is overeducated, varying considerably by discipline. The proportion of those overeducated from the lower classes is high (54 percent), although this varies by specialization. Overall, there is a 10 percent "penalty" in earnings associated with being overeducated for a university graduate. The negative and statistically significant effect of overeducation affects those faculties that are more general and do not correspond to particular occupations. Overeducated workers are younger than those properly matched, and more likely to work in the private sector. This suggests that overeducation is a phenomenon that affects workers as they make their way through the labor market. It may also mean that overeducation is a new phenomenon, brought about by the oversupply of graduates. Frustrated graduates are forced to take jobs in inappropriate fields. And as public sector employment decreases in size and the numbers of university graduates increase, private sector employment will necessarily increase for graduates. The question then is whether the private sector can provide jobs that are appropriate to the qualifications of university graduates.

Sickness absence in the private sector of Greece: comparing shipyard industry and national insurance data.

PubMed

Alexopoulos, Evangelos C; Merekoulias, Georgios; Tanagra, Dimitra; Konstantinou, Eleni C; Mikelatou, Efi; Jelastopulu, Eleni

2012-04-01

Approximately 3% of employees are absent from work due to illness daily in Europe, while in some countries sickness absence exceeds 20 days per year. Based on a limited body of reliable studies, Greek employees in the private sector seem to be absent far less frequently (<5 days/year) compared to most of the industrialized world. The aim of this study was to estimate the levels of sickness absence in the private sector in Greece, using shipyard and national insurance data. Detailed data on absenteeism of employees in a large shipyard company during the period 1999-2006 were utilized. National data on compensated days due to sickness absence concerning all employees (around 2 million) insured by the Social Insurance Institute (IKA, the largest insurance scheme in Greece) were retrieved from the Institute's annual statistical reports for the period 1987-2006. Sick-leave days per employee and sick-leave rate (%) were calculated, among other indicators. In the shipyard cohort, the employment time loss due to sick leave was 1%. The mean number of sick-leave days per employee in shipyards ranged between 4.6 and 8.7 and sick-leave rate (sickness absenteeism rate) varied among 2% and 3.7%. The corresponding indicators for IKA were estimated between 5 and 6.3 sick-leave days per insured employee (median 5.8), and 2.14-2.72% (median 2.49%), respectively. Short sick-leave spells (<4 days) may account at least for the 25% of the total number of sick-leave days, currently not recorded in national statistics. The level of sickness absence in the private sector in Greece was found to be higher than the suggested by previous reports and international comparative studies, but still remains one of the lowest in the industrialized world. In the 20-years national data, the results also showed a 7-year wave in sickness absence indexes (a decrease during the period 1991-1997 and an increase in 1998-2004) combined with a small yet significant decline as a general trend. These

Sickness Absence in the Private Sector of Greece: Comparing Shipyard Industry and National Insurance Data

PubMed Central

Alexopoulos, Evangelos C.; Merekoulias, Georgios; Tanagra, Dimitra; Konstantinou, Eleni C.; Mikelatou, Efi; Jelastopulu, Eleni

2012-01-01

Approximately 3% of employees are absent from work due to illness daily in Europe, while in some countries sickness absence exceeds 20 days per year. Based on a limited body of reliable studies, Greek employees in the private sector seem to be absent far less frequently (<5 days/year) compared to most of the industrialized world. The aim of this study was to estimate the levels of sickness absence in the private sector in Greece, using shipyard and national insurance data. Detailed data on absenteeism of employees in a large shipyard company during the period 1999–2006 were utilized. National data on compensated days due to sickness absence concerning all employees (around 2 million) insured by the Social Insurance Institute (IKA, the largest insurance scheme in Greece) were retrieved from the Institute’s annual statistical reports for the period 1987–2006. Sick-leave days per employee and sick-leave rate (%) were calculated, among other indicators. In the shipyard cohort, the employment time loss due to sick leave was 1%. The mean number of sick-leave days per employee in shipyards ranged between 4.6 and 8.7 and sick-leave rate (sickness absenteeism rate) varied among 2% and 3.7%. The corresponding indicators for IKA were estimated between 5 and 6.3 sick-leave days per insured employee (median 5.8), and 2.14–2.72% (median 2.49%), respectively. Short sick-leave spells (<4 days) may account at least for the 25% of the total number of sick-leave days, currently not recorded in national statistics. The level of sickness absence in the private sector in Greece was found to be higher than the suggested by previous reports and international comparative studies, but still remains one of the lowest in the industrialized world. In the 20-years national data, the results also showed a 7-year wave in sickness absence indexes (a decrease during the period 1991–1997 and an increase in 1998–2004) combined with a small yet significant decline as a general trend. These

Science Education and the Emergence of the Specialized Scientist in Nineteenth Century Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tampakis, Konstantinos

2013-01-01

In this paper, I describe the strong and reciprocal relations between the emergence of the specialized expert in the natural sciences and the establishment of science education, in early Modern Greece. Accordingly, I show how science and public education interacted within the Greek state from its inception in the early 1830, to the first decade of…

Hope for a Different Kind of Pedagogy in Greece in Times of Crisis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chalari, Maria

2017-01-01

This paper is based on a study conducted in 2014 that aimed to learn more about teachers' experiences of the recent political and economical changes in Greece and the new challenges that stem from these, as well as teachers' perceptions of the possibilities for the future. This study attempted to seek out possibilities of hope, particularly those…

Impact of irrigations on simulated convective activity over Central Greece: A high resolution study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotsopoulos, S.; Tegoulias, I.; Pytharoulis, I.; Kartsios, S.; Bampzelis, D.; Karacostas, T.

2014-12-01

The aim of this research is to investigate the impact of irrigations in the characteristics of convective activity simulated by the non-hydrostatic Weather Research and Forecasting model with the Advanced Research dynamic solver (WRF-ARW, version 3.5.1), under different upper air synoptic conditions in central Greece. To this end, 42 cases equally distributed under the six most frequent upper air synoptic conditions, which are associated with convective activity in the region of interest, were utilized considering two different soil moisture scenarios. In the first scenario, the model was initialized with the surface soil moisture of the ECMWF analysis data that usually does not take into account the modification of soil moisture due to agricultural activity in the area of interest. In the second scenario, the soil moisture in the upper soil layers of the study area was modified to the field capacity for the irrigated cropland. Three model domains, covering Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and northern Africa (d01), the wider area of Greece (d02) and central Greece - Thessaly region (d03) are used at horizontal grid-spacings of 15km, 5km and 1km respectively. The model numerical results indicate a strong dependence of convective spatiotemporal characteristics from the soil moisture difference between the two scenarios. Acknowledgements: This research is co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) and Greek national funds, through the action "COOPERATION 2011: Partnerships of Production and Research Institutions in Focused Research and Technology Sectors" (contract number 11SYN_8_1088 - DAPHNE) in the framework of the operational programme "Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship" and Regions in Transition (OPC II, NSRF 2007-2013).

Readability levels of health pamphlets distributed in hospitals and health centres in Athens, Greece.

PubMed

Kondilis, B K; Akrivos, P D; Sardi, T A; Soteriades, E S; Falagas, M E

2010-10-01

Health literacy is important in the medical and social sciences due to its impact on behavioural and health outcomes. Nevertheless, little is known about it in Greece, including patients' level of understanding health brochures and pamphlets distributed in Greek hospitals and clinics. Observational study in the greater metropolitan area of Athens, Greece. Pamphlets and brochures written in the Greek language were collected from 17 hospitals and healthcare centres between the spring and autumn of 2006. Readability of pamphlets using the Flesch-Kincaid, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) and Fog methods was calculated based on a Greek readability software. Out of 70 pamphlets collected from 17 hospitals, 37 pamphlets met the criteria for the study. The average readability level of all scanned pamphlets was ninth to 10th grade, corresponding to a readability level of 'average'. A highly significant difference (P<0.001) was found between private and public hospitals using the Flesch-Kincaid and SMOG readability scales. Pamphlets from private hospitals were one grade more difficult than those from public hospitals. Approximately 43.7% of the Greek population aged ≥20 years would not be able to comprehend the available pamphlets, which were found to have an average readability level of ninth to 10th grade. Further research examining readability levels in the context of health literacy in Greece is warranted. This effort paves the way for additional research in the field of readability levels of health pamphlets in the Greek language, the sources of health information, and the level of understanding of key health messages by the population. Copyright © 2010 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Study of Problems and Responses in the Development of Dual-Language Education Models in Tibetan Regions: Taking Xiahe County in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture as an Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hongzhi, Long

2017-01-01

Dual-language education models are theoretical and practical systems formed through the process of dual-language education and centered on study and teaching. The language environment is the basis for developing and reforming dual-language education models. The author takes Xiahe County in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture as an example and…

Radon concentration of waters in Greece and Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolopoulos, D.; Vogiannis, E.; Louizi, A.

2009-04-01

Radon (222Rn) is a radioactive gas generated by the decay of the naturally occurring 238U series. It is considered very important from radiological point of view, since it is the most significant natural source of human radiation exposure (approximately 50% from all natural sources). Radon is present in soil, rocks, building materials and waters. Through diffusion and convection, radon migrates and emanates to the atmosphere. Outdoors, radon concentrates at low levels (in the order of 10 Bq/m3). However indoors, radon accumulates significantly. It is trivial to observe indoor environments with high radon levels (in the order of 400 Bq/m3 or higher). Radon accumulation indoors, depends on the composition of the underlying soil and rock formation, on building materials, meteorological parameters, ventilation, heating and water use. Although soil and building materials are the most significant radon sources, there have been reported elevated radon concentrations in building structures due to entering water. It is the radon concentrations in the entering water, the volume and the way of water usage, separated or in combination, that result in large amounts of radon in indoor air. Moreover, radon is a factor of stomach radiation burden due to water consumption. This burden is estimated by measurements of radon concentrations in waters. Due to the health impact of radon exposure, the reporting team continuously measures radon. This work focused on the radon concentrations exposure due to water consumption and use in Greece and Cyprus. Various locations in Greece and Cyprus were accessed taking into consideration existing natural radioactivity data (mainly radon in water), however under the restriction of the capability of movement. Radon in water was measured by Alpha Guard (Genitron Ltd) via a special unit (Aqua Kit). This unit consists of a vessel used for forced degassing of radon diluted in water samples, a security vessel used for water drop deposition. Vessels and

Anomalously high radon discharge from the atotsugawa fault prior to the western nagano prefecture earthquake ( m 6.8) of september 14, 1984

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ui, Hirotaka; Moriuchi, Hiroyuki; Takemura, Yukiko; Tsuchida, Hiroko; Fujii, Iwao; Nakamura, Masaru

1988-09-01

Radon alpha tracks monitored at six sites increased gradually three months before (detected by microscopic counting), and increased remarkably 2 weeks before (detected by both mechanical and microscopic counting) the western Nagano Prefecture earthquake ( M 6.8) which occurred on September 14, 1984. The monitoring sites were located about 65 km northwest of the epicenter, on the shear zone of the Atotsugawa fault. The changes in radon emanation are considered to be related to the earthquake rather than to changes in meteorological conditions.

Prevalence of Legionella spp. in water systems of hospitals and hotels in South Western Greece.

PubMed

Fragou, K; Kokkinos, P; Gogos, C; Alamanos, Y; Vantarakis, A

2012-01-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of Legionella spp. in water systems of hospitals and hotels located in South Western Greece, to study the molecular epidemiology of the isolated strains and their possible association with bacterial contamination (total count and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), the water pH, and temperature. A prevalence survey for Legionella spp. by culturing techniques in water distribution systems of eight hospitals and nine hotels occurred in South Western Greece. Water sampling and microbiological analysis were carried out following the ISO methods. Legionella pneumophila was detected in 33% and 36% of the distribution systems of hospitals and hotels, respectively. Our survey results suggest a frequent prevalence of elevated concentrations of Legionella spp. in water systems of hospitals and hotels. Our investigation has confirmed the need to regularly monitor the microbiological condition of water systems in hospitals and hotels.

Familial Mediterranean fever associated pyrin mutations in Greece

PubMed Central

Konstantopoulos, K; Kanta, A; Deltas, C; Atamian, V; Mavrogianni, D; Tzioufas, A; Kollainis, I; Ritis, K; Moutsopoulos, H

2003-01-01

Patients and methods: 62 patients fulfilling the Tel Hashomer diagnostic criteria for definite (33) or probable (29) FMF diagnosis were studied. Eight point mutations of pyrin gene were tested by standard methods. Of the 62 patients tested, 48 were Greek, four were Jewish, seven were Armenian, and three were Arab. Results: 42 patients were found to be homozygotes for pyrin mutations; 11 patients were found to carry only one of the tested mutations; in nine patients no mutations were detected. Conclusion: Molecular detection of pyrin gene mutations seems useful in confirming suspected cases, and in detecting asymptomatic cases, of Mediterranean fever in Greece. It may also be used as a screening tool within affected families. PMID:12695165

Mental Health Distress and Related Factors Among Prefectural Public Servants Seven Months After the Great East Japan Earthquake

PubMed Central

Suzuki, Yuriko; Fukasawa, Maiko; Obara, Akiko; Kim, Yoshiharu

2014-01-01

Background To develop an empirically informed support measure for workers, we examined mental health distress and its risk factors among prefectural public servants who were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and faced a demanding workload in the midterm of the disaster. Methods We conducted a self-administered health survey of all public servants in the Miyagi prefectural government two and seven months after the Great East Japan Earthquake (3743 workers, 70.6% of all employees). We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mental distress (defined as K6 score ≥10) in the domain of disaster-work-related stressors, work-related stressors, and disaster-related stressors. Results Among those with better levels of workplace communication, the only factor that increased the risk of mental distress was not taking a non-work day each week (adjusted OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.27–5.14). Among those with poorer levels of workplace communication, in addition to not taking a non-work day each week (adjusted OR 3.93, 95% CI 3.00–5.15), handling residents’ complaints (adjusted OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.00–2.42), having dead or missing family members (adjusted OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.53–5.38), and living in a shelter more than two months after the disaster (adjusted OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.32–5.95) increased the risk of mental distress. Conclusions All workers should be encouraged to take a non-work day each week. Among workers with poor workplace communication, special attention should be given to those who handle residents’ complaints, have lost a family member(s), and are living in a shelter for a prolonged period of time. PMID:24857952

Determinants of Electricity Consumption Intensity in China: Analysis of Cities at Subprovince and Prefecture Levels in 2009

PubMed Central

Xia, X. H.; Hu, Yi

2012-01-01

China has experienced great social and economic vicissitudes that caused the vast complexity and uncertainty for electricity consumption. This paper attempts to identify the main determinants of the electricity consumption intensity by using the data from Chinese cities at subprovince and prefecture levels in 2009. The key category factors, including urban morphology, industrial structure, regulation context, urbanization degree, price, natural condition, and resource endowment, are abstracted and the influence of these determinants is evaluated by adopting the finite mixture models. The variation of each determinant across regions, the comparative weights of all the factors, and the detailed classifications of the cities are reported for facilitating the understanding of electricity consumption in China. The corresponding policies for electricity administration are addressed as well. PMID:22927781

Misconceptions about Ebola seriously affect the prevention efforts: KAP related to Ebola prevention and treatment in Kouroussa Prefecture, Guinea

PubMed Central

Buli, Benti Geleta; Mayigane, Landry Ndriko; Oketta, Julius Facki; Soumouk, Aguide; Sandouno, Tamba Emile; Camara, Bole; Toure, Mory Saidou; Conde, Aissata

2015-01-01

Introduction Guinea is the third hardest hit country in the region with 2,806 cases and 1,814 deaths as of January 11, 2015 after Sierra Leone and Liberia respectively. This KAP study was conducted in three sub-prefectures of Kouroussa in the Kankan region of Guinea from 15 December 2014 to 15 January 2015. It was conducted with the general objective of examining the knowledge, attitude and practice related to Ebola prevention and care among the public of Kouroussa Prefecture. Methods A cross-sectional study design was employed to collect quantitative data to examine knowledge, attitude and practice related to Ebola. Structured questionnaire was administered by trained data collectors who were supervised by doctors and epidemiologists from WHO and Africa Union. Data were collected from 358 individuals (93% response rate) and analyzed in STATA 13 while tables and graphs are used to display results. Results Over 96% of the respondents have ever heard about Ebola while only 76.2% believed the disease existed in Kouroussa. Avoiding physical contacts including hand shaking and contacts with body fluids, and early treatment of persons sick from Ebola were the two important prevention methods frequently mentioned (96.8% and 93.9%). Only 35.7% of respondents were found to have comprehensive knowledge about Ebola (composite of correctly accepting three methods of prevention (85%) and rejecting misconceptions (55.7%)). Conclusion The high level of knowledge about modes of transmission and prevention methods has not positively affected the level of comprehensive knowledge about Ebola. In contrast, the prevailing high level of misconceptions surrounding Ebola was found to be responsible for a low comprehensive knowledge. PMID:26740839

Misconceptions about Ebola seriously affect the prevention efforts: KAP related to Ebola prevention and treatment in Kouroussa Prefecture, Guinea.

PubMed

Buli, Benti Geleta; Mayigane, Landry Ndriko; Oketta, Julius Facki; Soumouk, Aguide; Sandouno, Tamba Emile; Camara, Bole; Toure, Mory Saidou; Conde, Aissata

2015-01-01

Guinea is the third hardest hit country in the region with 2,806 cases and 1,814 deaths as of January 11, 2015 after Sierra Leone and Liberia respectively. This KAP study was conducted in three sub-prefectures of Kouroussa in the Kankan region of Guinea from 15 December 2014 to 15 January 2015. It was conducted with the general objective of examining the knowledge, attitude and practice related to Ebola prevention and care among the public of Kouroussa Prefecture. A cross-sectional study design was employed to collect quantitative data to examine knowledge, attitude and practice related to Ebola. Structured questionnaire was administered by trained data collectors who were supervised by doctors and epidemiologists from WHO and Africa Union. Data were collected from 358 individuals (93% response rate) and analyzed in STATA 13 while tables and graphs are used to display results. Over 96% of the respondents have ever heard about Ebola while only 76.2% believed the disease existed in Kouroussa. Avoiding physical contacts including hand shaking and contacts with body fluids, and early treatment of persons sick from Ebola were the two important prevention methods frequently mentioned (96.8% and 93.9%). Only 35.7% of respondents were found to have comprehensive knowledge about Ebola (composite of correctly accepting three methods of prevention (85%) and rejecting misconceptions (55.7%)). The high level of knowledge about modes of transmission and prevention methods has not positively affected the level of comprehensive knowledge about Ebola. In contrast, the prevailing high level of misconceptions surrounding Ebola was found to be responsible for a low comprehensive knowledge.

Modern Languages and Interculturality in the Primary Sector in England, Greece, Italy and Spain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cerezal, Fernando

1997-01-01

Addresses concerns and issues regarding modern language teaching and learning at primary schools in Greece, Italy, Spain, and England. It focuses on the optimal age for learning and acquiring languages and to the educational reforms which have been undertaken in each country relating to early modern language teaching and learning and…

Wage Returns to University Disciplines in Greece: Are Greek Higher Education Degrees Trojan Horses?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livanos, Ilias; Pouliakas, Konstantinos

2011-01-01

This paper examines the wage returns to qualifications and academic disciplines in the Greek labour market. Exploring wage responsiveness across various degree subjects in Greece is interesting, as it is characterised by high levels of graduate unemployment, which vary considerably with the field of study, and relatively low levels of wage…

Constructing the health care system in Greece: responsibility and powerlessness.

PubMed

Lentza, Vassiliki; Montgomery, Anthony J; Georganta, Katerina; Panagopoulou, Efharis

2014-02-01

Based on health care professionals' (HPs) and patients' interviews about work demands and quality of care in hospitals, the study explores the way that patients and HPs constructed their identities to describe and construct the health care system in Greece. This is a qualitative study using a focus group (FG) design. Seven FGs discussions were conducted: three FGs discussions were conducted for the assessment of job stressors (1 for doctors, 1 for nurses and 1 for residents) and four FGs discussions for the assessment of quality of care (1 for doctors, 1 for nurses, 1 for residents and 1 for patients). The sample consisted of health care professionals working in a teaching hospital in the region of Thessaloniki, Greece, and patients who had at least one experience of any kind in the same hospital. Transcripts of the FGs discussions underwent discourse analysis. The results showed that both HPs and patients construct the health care system based on bipolar constructions of responsibility and powerlessness. In particular, participants use these constructions to allocate the responsibility to different levels of the health care system hierarchy or to the system per se constructing, at the same time, themselves as the 'viewers' of this system. The study allowed a deeper understanding of issues related to quality of care in hospitals providing context-specific information. Identity in health care organizations was inextricably linked to power and responsibility. The need to deconstruct this responsibility/powerlessness ideology is discussed. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Pioneers in the anti-malaria battle in Greece (1900-1930).

PubMed

Mandyla, Maria; Tsiamis, Costas; Kousounis, Alexandros; Petridou, Eleni

2011-01-01

The aim of the study is to present the efforts of the Greek physicians to introduce a malaria control and eradication program in Greece. It is based on the proceedings of the Greek Anti-Malaria League and on medicohistorical studies. Due to political, economic and military reasons the Greek State seemed weak to develop a dedicated plan to eradicate malaria. Hence, the Greek Anti-Malaria League in 1905 was founded by a group of eminent citizens who took the initiative to organize a campaign against the disease. Constantinos Savvas, Professor of Hygiene and Microbiology and President of the League, as well as the pediatrician Dr. Ioannis Kardamatis were among the most influential personalities in the Greek society at that time. Due to the massive use of quinine the burden of the disease decreased significantly. But, the national disaster of 1922, however, during the Greek-Turkish War and the wave of one million Greek refugees from Asia Minor to Greece modified the epidemiological map of malaria. The heritage of the epidemiological studies undertaken by the League was the basis for the new campaign undertaken during the 1930s by the Greek State and the Rockefeller Foundation. The new structure of the Sanitary Services, the legacy of the League's experience and the knowledge of the Greek trainees of the Rockefeller Foundation, served as the starting-point for the final eradication of malaria after World War II.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Natura 2000 Network for Wolf Conservation: A Case-Study in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Votsi, Nefta-Eleftheria P.; Zomeni, Maria S.; Pantis, J. D.

2016-02-01

The wolf ( Canis lupus) is used as a case study to rate Natura 2000 sites in Greece based on preferred wolf habitat characteristics and test whether the network is suitable for their conservation. Road density, agricultural area, site area, connectivity, food availability (i.e., presence of natural prey), and elevation in 237 sites are combined in a logistic regression model. The occurrence of the wolf's natural prey was the most prevalent factor determining wolf presence, followed by agricultural cover. Considering the current status of these features at N2K site level, most sites currently hosting wolves (85.7 %) have good or excellent prospects for the long-term presence of the wolf. On the contrary, 11 sites which now have wolves are predicted to be ineffective in keeping them in the future due to the absence of wild ungulates and their high agricultural coverage. Four sites with no wolf presence currently have excellent prospects to host wolves in the future. Roadless sites are a priority for protection and retaining their current condition is strongly suggested. The proposed approach aims to detect gaps in protection for the wolf and identify priority sites in need of mitigation actions. It can also assist the assessment of conservation policies in Greece and elsewhere toward accomplishing set goals in protected areas. By focusing on wolf protection, we hope to increase agencies' attention to deal with conservation effectiveness, especially in cases like Greece, where a number of sites are insufficiently known and protected and management measures are not properly implemented.

Genotypes and subtypes of Cryptosporidium spp. in diarrheic lambs and goat kids in northern Greece.

PubMed

Papanikolopoulou, Vasiliki; Baroudi, Djamel; Guo, Yaqiong; Wang, Yuanfei; Papadopoulos, Elias; Lafi, Shwakat Q; Abd El-Tawab, Mohamed M; Diakou, Anastasia; Giadinis, Nektarios D; Feng, Yaoyu; Xiao, Lihua

2018-08-01

Inconsistent data exist on the distribution of zoonotic Cryptosporidium species and subtypes in sheep and goats in European countries, and few such data are available from Greece. In this study, 280 fecal specimens were collected from 132 diarrheic lambs and 148 diarrheic goat kids aged 4 to 15 days on 15 farms in northern Greece, and examined for Cryptosporidium spp. using microscopy of Ziehl-Neelsen-stained fecal smears. Cryptosporidium spp. in 80 microscopy-positive fecal specimens (39 from lambs and 41 from goat kids) were genotyped by PCR-RFLP analysis of the small subunit rRNA gene and subtyped by sequence analysis the 60 kDa glycoprotein gene. Among the 33 specimens successfully genotyped, C. parvum was found in 32 and C. xiaoi in one. Seven subtypes belonging to two subtype families (IIa and IId) were identified among the 29 C. parvum specimens successfully subtyped, including IIaA14G2R1 (1/29), IIaA15G2R1 (6/29), IIaA20G1R1 (7/29), IIdA14G2 (1/29), IIdA15G1 (9/29), IIdA16G1 (3/29), and IIdA23G1 (2/29). Lambs were more commonly infected with C. parvum IIa subtypes, whereas goat kids were more with IId subtypes. The results illustrate that C. parvum is prevalent in diarrheic lambs and goat kids in northern Greece and these animals could potentially play a role in epidemiology of human cryptosporidiosis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The occurrence and genetic characterization of Cryptosporidium and Giardia species in foals in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Greece.

PubMed

Kostopoulou, D; Casaert, S; Tzanidakis, N; van Doorn, D; Demeler, J; von Samson-Himmelstjerna, G; Saratsis, A; Voutzourakis, N; Ehsan, A; Doornaert, T; Looijen, M; De Wilde, N; Sotiraki, S; Claerebout, E; Geurden, T

2015-07-30

Faecal samples were collected from foals between the age of 1 week and 6 months in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Greece. A quantitative direct immunofluorescence assay based on the commercial MERIFLUOR Cryptosporidium/Giardia kit was performed to evaluate the presence of (oo) cysts. Parasite positive samples were genotyped, based on the 18S ribosomal DNA gene and the heat shock protein (HSP70) gene for Cryptosporidium and on the β-giardin gene and the triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) gene for Giardia. In total, 134 foals from Belgium, 44 foals from The Netherlands, 30 foals from Germany and 190 foals from Greece were examined. No Cryptosporidium oocysts were identified in faecal samples from foals in Germany and The Netherlands. In Belgium and Greece, 4.5% and 1.1% of the foals examined were Cryptosporidium positive, respectively, all with a low oocyst excretion ranging from 100 to 2450 oocysts per gram of faeces. For Giardia, 14.2%, 11.4%, 10.0% and 11.6% of the foals in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Greece, respectively, were found to excrete cysts, with a range of 50 up to 4,000,000 cysts per gram of faeces. Younger animals secreted significantly more Giardia cysts than older horses (p<0.05), but no significant correlation between Giardia infection and diarrhoea was observed. Most Giardia positive samples belonged to assemblage AI and/or BIV, but also assemblage E was detected in two samples. Together with the identification of Cryptosporidium horse genotype, this suggests only a low risk for zoonotic transmission. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A fully automatic processing chain to produce Burn Scar Mapping products, using the full Landsat archive over Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kontoes, Charalampos; Papoutsis, Ioannis; Herekakis, Themistoklis; Michail, Dimitrios; Ieronymidi, Emmanuela

2013-04-01

Remote sensing tools for the accurate, robust and timely assessment of the damages inflicted by forest wildfires provide information that is of paramount importance to public environmental agencies and related stakeholders before, during and after the crisis. The Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens (IAASARS/NOA) has developed a fully automatic single and/or multi date processing chain that takes as input archived Landsat 4, 5 or 7 raw images and produces precise diachronic burnt area polygons and damage assessments over the Greek territory. The methodology consists of three fully automatic stages: 1) the pre-processing stage where the metadata of the raw images are extracted, followed by the application of the LEDAPS software platform for calibration and mask production and the Automated Precise Orthorectification Package, developed by NASA, for image geo-registration and orthorectification, 2) the core-BSM (Burn Scar Mapping) processing stage which incorporates a published classification algorithm based on a series of physical indexes, the application of two filters for noise removal using graph-based techniques and the grouping of pixels classified as burnt to form the appropriate pixels clusters before proceeding to conversion from raster to vector, and 3) the post-processing stage where the products are thematically refined and enriched using auxiliary GIS layers (underlying land cover/use, administrative boundaries, etc.) and human logic/evidence to suppress false alarms and omission errors. The established processing chain has been successfully applied to the entire archive of Landsat imagery over Greece spanning from 1984 to 2012, which has been collected and managed in IAASARS/NOA. The number of full Landsat frames that were subject of process in the framework of the study was 415. These burn scar mapping products are generated for the first time to such a temporal and spatial

Financial crisis and austerity measures in Greece: their impact on health promotion policies and public health care.

PubMed

Ifanti, Amalia A; Argyriou, Andreas A; Kalofonou, Foteini H; Kalofonos, Haralabos P

2013-11-01

This review study explores the available data relating to the impact of financial crisis and subsequently applied austerity measures on the health care, social services and health promotion policies in Greece. It is evident that Greece is affected more than any other European country by the financial crisis. Unemployment, job insecurity, income reduction, poverty and increase of mental disorders are among the most serious consequences of crisis in the socioeconomic life. The health system is particularly affected by the severe austerity measures. The drastic curtailing of government spending has significantly affected the structure and functioning of public hospitals that cope with understaffing, deficits, drug shortage and basic medical supplies. Moreover, health promotion policies are constrained, inhibiting thus the relevant initiatives toward disease prevention and health promotion education practices. Overall, the current economic situation in Greece and its impact on real life and health care is quite concerning. Policy makers should not disregard the implications that austerity and fiscal policies have on the health sector. Greater attention is needed in order to ensure that individuals would continue getting public health care and having access to preventive and social support services. To face the economic hardship, policy makers are expected to implement human-centered approaches, safeguarding the human dignity and the moral values. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Outcomes and factors associated with survival of patients with HIV/AIDS initiating antiretroviral treatment in Liangshan Prefecture, southwest of China

PubMed Central

Zhang, Guang; Gong, Yuhan; Wang, Qixing; Deng, Ling; Zhang, Shize; Liao, Qiang; Yu, Gang; Wang, Ke; Wang, Ju; Ye, Shaodong; Liu, Zhongfu

2016-01-01

Abstract Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–positive cases have been reported among people who injected drugs in Liangshan Prefecture in southwest of China since 1995 and Liangshan has become one of the most seriously affected epidemic areas in China. In 2004, several patients with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) initiated antiretroviral treatment (ART) at the Central Hospital of Liangshan Prefecture. From 2005 to 2013, the number of patients receiving ART dramatically increased. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to analyze the long-term survival time and associated factors among patients with HIV/AIDS who received ART in Liangshan Prefecture for the first time. Data were collected from the Chinese AIDS Antiretroviral Therapy DATAFax Information System. A life table and the Kaplan–Meier and Cox proportion hazard regression were used to calculate the survival time and its associated factors, respectively. Among 8310 ART-naïve patients with HIV/AIDS who initiated ART, 436 patients died of AIDS-related diseases, and their median time of receiving ART was 15.0 ± 12.3 months, whereas 28.7% of them died within the first 6 months after treatment. The cumulative survival rates of those receiving ART in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years were 97.1%, 93.4%, 90.6%, 88.8%, and 86.0%, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that male patients on ART were at a higher risk of death from AIDS-related diseases (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] = 1.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1–2.1) than female patients. Patients infected with HIV through injection drug use (IDU) were at a higher risk of death (AHR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2–2.2) than those infected through heterosexual transmission. Patients with a baseline CD4 cell count <50/mm3 (AHR = 9.8, 95% CI: 6.0–15.9), 50–199/mm3 (AHR = 3.3, 95% CI: 2.3–4.6), and 200–349/mm3 (AHR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2–2.3) were at a higher risk of death than those with a CD4 cell count ≥350/mm3. ART prolonged

Attitudes and values in sexual behaviour and sex education: A cross-cultural study among University students in Greece and Scotland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kakavoulis, Alexandros; Forrest, Joan

1999-03-01

This article describes a survey comparing university students in Greece and Scotland with regard to their attitudes to sexual development and sex education. A questionnaire was constructed in Greek and English and was completed by 436 university students in Greece and an equivalent number in Scotland. Comparative results show a tendency for students' attitudes to converge with regard to gender identity, inter-sexual relations, appropriate forms of sexual behaviour and the factors that shape it. Differences exist regarding the aims of sex education, the concept of a sexually mature person, and the moral principles that should govern inter-sexual relations.

The healthcare system and provision of oral healthcare in European Union member states. Part 4: Greece.

PubMed

Damaskinos, P; Koletsi-Kounari, H; Economou, C; Eaton, K A; Widström, E

2016-03-11

This paper presents a description of the healthcare system and how oral healthcare is organised and provided in Greece, a country in a deep economic and social crisis. The national health system is underfunded, with severe gaps in staffing levels and the country has a large private healthcare sector. Oral healthcare has been largely provided in the private sector. Most people are struggling to survive and have no money to spend on general and oral healthcare. Unemployment is rising and access to healthcare services is more difficult than ever. Additionally, there has been an overproduction of dentists and no development of team dentistry. This has led to under or unemployment of dentists in Greece and their migration to other European Union member states, such as the United Kingdom, where over 600 Greek dentists are currently working.

20+ Years of Environmental Education Centers in Greece: Teachers' Perceptions and Future Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yanniris, Constantinos

2015-01-01

For the first time after decades of expansion and systematic innovative practice, environmental education in Greece faces an uncertain future as a result of the contemporary political and economic crisis. This research aims to contribute to the international exchange of good practices by focusing on the effects and functions of the Greek network…

Cross-border reproductive care among French patients: experiences in Greece, Spain and Belgium

PubMed Central

Rozée Gomez, Virginie; de La Rochebrochard, Elise

2013-01-01

STUDY QUESTION What are the characteristics, motivation and experience of French patients seeking cross-border reproductive care (CBRC)? SUMMARY ANSWER French patients seeking CBRC are same-sex couples, single women who are not eligible for assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs) in France and heterosexual couples seeking oocyte donation due to extremely limited access to this technique in France, while their choice of Greece as a destination is influenced by financial issues. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY CBRC is a new, increasing, complex and poorly understood phenomenon. A few studies have investigated UK, German or Italian CBRC patients, but none have specifically investigated French patients although France is one of the top four countries of origin of CBRC patients in Europe. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2010–2012 in three ART centres in Greece, Belgium and Spain in order to investigate French patients treated in these centres. Recruitment was prospective in Greece and Belgium and retrospective in Spain. The overall response rate was 68%, with 128 French patients participating. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS French patients filled in a questionnaire. Information was collected on their socio-economic characteristics and their search for ART treatment in France and in other countries. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE In the Belgian centre, 89% of French patients used sperm donation whereas oocyte donation was used by 100% of patients in the Greek centre and 74% of patients in the Spanish centre. The majority (94%) of French patients using sperm donation in Belgium were not legally eligible for access to ART in France as they were same-sex couples or single women, and the main criterion of choice of centre was its geographical proximity (71%). Most of the French patients using oocyte donation in Greece and Spain fulfilled criteria for fully reimbursed oocyte donation treatment in France as they were

Assessing groundwater quality in Greece based on spatial and temporal analysis.

PubMed

Dokou, Zoi; Kourgialas, Nektarios N; Karatzas, George P

2015-12-01

The recent industrial growth together with the urban expansion and intensive agriculture in Greece has increased groundwater contamination in many regions of the country. In order to design successful remediation strategies and protect public health, it is very important to identify those areas that are most vulnerable to groundwater contamination. In this work, an extensive contamination database from monitoring wells that cover the entire Greek territory during the last decade (2000-2008) was used in order to study the temporal and spatial distribution of groundwater contamination for the most common and serious anionic and cationic trace element pollutants (heavy metals). Spatial and temporal patterns and trends in the occurrence of groundwater contamination were also identified highlighting the regions where the higher groundwater contamination rates have been detected across the country. As a next step, representative contaminated aquifers in Greece, which were identified by the above analysis, were selected in order to analyze the specific contamination problem in more detail. To this end, geostatistical techniques (various types of kriging, co-kriging, and indicator kriging) were employed in order to map the contaminant values and the probability of exceeding critical thresholds (set as the parametric values of the contaminant of interest in each case). The resulting groundwater contamination maps could be used as a useful tool for water policy makers and water managers in order to assist the decision-making process.

Influence of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on the birth weight of newborns in Fukushima Prefecture: Fukushima Health Management Survey.

PubMed

Yasuda, Shun; Kyozuka, Hyo; Nomura, Yasuhisa; Fujimori, Keiya; Goto, Aya; Yasumura, Seiji; Hata, Kennichi; Ohira, Tetsuya; Abe, Masafumi

2017-12-01

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred on 11 March 2011. We investigated the incidence of SGA (small for gestational age) in the Fukushima Prefecture in newborns delivered by women who were pregnant at the time of the disasters and identified any risk factors for SGA. Subjects were women who were pregnant at the time of the disasters. Questionnaires were sent to the women who lived in the Hamadori area (seaside and near to the nuclear power plant) at the time of the disasters as well as to a control group of women who lived outside the Hamadori area. The incidence of SGA was compared. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for SGA. In total, 325(5.6%) women had infants with SGA. Neither area nor the trimester of pregnancy at the time of the disasters influenced the incidence of SGA. Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) was higher in the SGA group. PIH was found to be an independent risk factor for SGA. We found no evidence that the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster increased the incidence of SGA in the Fukushima Prefecture.

Promoting Critical Awareness in the Initial Training of Preschool Teachers in Greece: Resistance and Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kourti, Evangelia; Androussou, Alexandra

2013-01-01

This article focuses on the development of future preschool teachers' critical awareness through the introduction of two "new" subjects--intercultural education and media education--in the curriculum of an early childhood department in Greece. The current social and political context, the structure of preschool teachers' training in…

A New Stubby Species of Demodectic Mite (Acari: Demodicidae) From the Domestic Dog (Canidae).

PubMed

Morita, Tatsushi; Ohmi, Aki; Kiwaki, Akihito; Ike, Kazunori; Nagata, Katsuyuki

2018-02-28

A new species of Demodex was detected in the earwax of a dog with otitis externa in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, in July 2010. The opisthosoma length of the mite was slightly shorter than 1/2 of its body length, which was different from the other species in domestic dogs, D. canis and D. injai, but was similar to the form of mites termed "short-bodied species", including D. cornei. However, the stubby external form was morphologically different from those of "short-bodied species", excluding a case without a species description reported from Greece. Among known species, the mite was similar to D. equi and D. acutipes.

Prescription of antibiotics and awareness of antibiotic costs by paediatricians in two hospitals in Greece.

PubMed

Maltezou, Helena C; Mougkou, Katerina; Iosifidis, Elias; Katerelos, Panos; Roilides, Emmanuel; Theodoridou, Maria

2014-02-01

Our aim was to study the antibiotic prescription practices and the knowledge about antibiotic costs, brand and generic drugs of paediatricians working in two hospitals in Greece. The 2007 national guidelines were used as the gold standard for antibiotic prescription. A total of 126 paediatricians participated in the study (50.4% response rate). The mean compliance rate with the guidelines was 50.1% (range per infection: 10.6-84.7%). The mean scores of knowledge about antibiotic costs and about brand name and generic drugs were 35.6 and 60.3%, respectively. Linear regression analysis found a significant association between the mean compliance rate with the national guidelines and the paediatricians' age (mean compliance rates were 49.1, 53.0, and 43.0% in the ≤ 30, 31-40, and > 40 years age-groups, respectively; P  =  0.003). In conclusion, five years after the first national guidelines were issued in Greece only half of the paediatricians working in hospitals comply fully with them.

Epidemiology and predisposing factors of obesity in Greece: from the Second World War until today.

PubMed

Roditis, Maria L; Parlapani, Elisavet S; Tzotzas, Themistoklis; Hassapidou, Maria; Krassas, Gerasimos E

2009-05-01

Over the last 30 years overweight and obesity among adults and children have been on the rise, and since 1997 WHO has designated obesity as a major public health problem. In Greece both adult and childhood obesity is now recognized as an epidemic problem, probably more important than in other European countries. The issue is more serious in male adolescents and adults. There is also a tendency for weight increase along the last 30 years. Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus are also rising rapidly in the Greek population. The reasons for this epidemic in Greece are not clear. Possible explanations could emerge from the delayed but sharp economic evolution of the country, as well as the abandonment of the traditional Mediterranean diet. Other predisposing factors in Greek children are parental obesity, frequent television viewing, low rates of breastfeeding and, in adolescent girls, smoking and alcohol consumption. Emerging measures are needed to confront this epidemic.

Annual and seasonal distribution of day and night Land Surface Temperature trend over Greece.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmi, V.; Gemitzi, A.; Eleftheriou, D.; Kalea, A.; Kalmintzis, G.; Kiachidis, K.; Koumadoraki, P.; Mpantasis, C.; Spathara, M. E.; Tsolaki, A.; Tzampazidou, M. I.

2017-12-01

Climate change is one of the most challenging research topics during the last few decades, as temperature rise has already posed a significant impact on earth's functions affecting thus all life of the planet. The present study investigates the distribution of day and night Land Surface Temperature (LST) trends over Greece, a country in Mediterranean area which is identified as one of the main ``hot-spots" of climate change projections. Remotely sensed LST data were obtained from MODIS sensor in the form of 8-day composites of day and night values at a resolution of 1km for a 17-year period, i.e. from 2000 to 2017. Spatial aggregates of 10km x 10km were computed and the annual and seasonal temporal trends were determined for each one of those sub-areas. Results showed that annual trends of daily LST in the majority of areas demonstrated decrease ranging from -1*10-2 oC to -1.3*10-3 oC, with some sporadic parts showing a slight increase. A totally different outcome is observed in the fate of night LST, with all areas over Greece demonstrating increasing annual trends ranging from 4.6 * 10-5 oC to 3.1 * 10-3 oC, with highest values in the South-East parts of the country. Seasonal trends in day and night LST showed the same pattern, i.e., a general decrease in the day LST and a definite increase in night. An interesting finding is the increase in winter LST trends observed both for day and night LST, indicating that the absolute minimum annual LST observed during winter in Greece increases. Our results also indicate that the difference between the day and night LST is decreasing.

Lower-free tropospheric ozone dial measurements over Athens, Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mytilinaios, Michail; Papayannis, Alexandros; Tsaknakis, Georgios

2018-04-01

A compact ozone differential absorption lidar (DIAL) was implemented at the Laboratory of Laser Remote Sensing of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), in Athens, Greece. The DIAL system is based on a Nd:YAG laser emitting at 266 nm. A high-pressure Raman cell, filled with D2, was used to generate the λON and λOFF laser wavelength pairs (i.e., 266-289 nm and 289-316 nm, respectively) based on the Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) effect. The system was run during daytime and nighttime conditions to obtain the vertical profile of tropospheric ozone in the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) and the adjacent free troposphere.

Quantifying the water-energy nexus in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziogou, Isidoros; Zachariadis, Theodoros

2017-11-01

In this paper we provide an assessment of the water-energy nexus for Greece. More specifically, the amount of freshwater consumed per unit of energy produced is determined: for both conventional (lignite, diesel and fuel oil-fired) and advanced (combined operation of gas turbine) thermal power plants in the electricity generation sector; for extraction and refining activities in the primary energy production sector; and for the production of biodiesel that is used as a blend in the ultimately delivered automotive diesel fuel. In addition, the amount of electricity consumed for the purposes of water supply and sewerage is presented. In view of the expected effects of climate change in the Mediterranean region, the results of this study highlight the need for authorities to prepare a national strategy that will ensure climate resilience in both energy and water sectors of the country.

Pederasty, heroism, and the family in classical Greece.

PubMed

Ungaretti, J R

1978-01-01

Male homosexuality in Classical Greece found its expression in relationships that conformed to a pederastic model. This socially endorsed hierarchical relationship between older lover and younger beloved can be understood as an integral part of the culture by examining the concept of heroism and of the ideal warrior/hero presented in the poems of Homer and discussed in classical literature. Pederasty functioned to support the family and the continued primacy of masculine values and ethics. There is evidence that by the Classical period, traditional views, formed on the model of the warrior/hero, were undergoing a weakening and confusion. Social critics of the time rediculed these weaknesses and urged a return to values that stressed the dominance and strength of the hero.

Occupational Stress, Negative Affectivity and Physical Health in Special and General Education Teachers in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazuras, Lambros

2006-01-01

Teacher stress has attracted considerable attention, yet few studies have focused on special education teachers. This article, by Lambros Lazuras of the South-East European Research Centre (SEERC) in Thessaloniki, reports research designed to explore differences in the stress levels of general and special educators in Greece and provides…

"It Is Only Natural….": Attitudes of Young People with Intellectual Disabilities toward Sexuality in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karellou, Ioanna

2017-01-01

Although there is an increasing awareness of the rights of people with intellectual disabilities, limited progress has been made in supporting people with intellectual disabilities to create and sustain intimate personal relationships in Greece. This article looks at the attitudes of 66 adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities…

Enhancing Students' Critical Awareness in a Second Chance School in Greece: Reality or Wishful Thinking?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Efstathiou, Ioannis

2009-01-01

This paper is about a case study investigating into a Second Chance School in Greece as an institution for raising students' social awareness along the principles of critical pedagogy. Through the prism of symbolic interactionism, students' and teachers' negotiated perspectives formulating school and classroom culture reveal that students'…

Perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) in home and commercially produced chicken eggs from the Netherlands and Greece.

PubMed

Zafeiraki, Effrosyni; Costopoulou, Danae; Vassiliadou, Irene; Leondiadis, Leondios; Dassenakis, Emmanouil; Hoogenboom, Ron L A P; van Leeuwen, Stefan P J

2016-02-01

Dietary intake is a major route of human exposure to perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs). However, the available information on PFAS levels in food, including chicken eggs, is limited. In the present study, home produced and commercially produced eggs (organic, battery and free range eggs) were collected from the Netherlands (n = 95) and Greece (n = 76). The egg yolks were analysed for 11 PFASs by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using isotope dilution. PFAS levels in yolk were higher in home produced eggs from the Netherlands (median 3.1, range < LOQ - 31.2 ng g(-1)) and Greece (median 1.1, range < LOQ - 15.0 ng g(-1)) compared to the eggs collected from supermarkets. In these eggs, all PFAS levels were below the LOQ of 0.5 ng g(-1), except for a small amount of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in 1 sample in each country (1.1 ng g(-1) and 0.9 ng g(-1) for the Netherlands and Greece respectively). PFOS was the predominant PFAS, making up on average 85% of ∑PFASs. The highest PFOS concentration was detected in a Dutch home produced egg sample (24.8 ng g(-1)). The contamination pattern was similar in both countries with the long-chain PFASs (C ≥ 8) being most frequently detected, while short-chain PFASs were rarely found. The most likely cause of the contamination of home produced eggs is ingestion of soil through pecking. Although regular consumption of home produced eggs will lead to an increased PFOS exposure, it is not expected that it will lead to exceedance of the tolerable daily intake established by EFSA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary lightning observations over Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chronis, Themis G.

2012-02-01

The first Precision Lightning Network, monitoring the Cloud-to-Ground (CG) lightning stroke activity over Greece and surrounding waters is operated and maintained by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service. This paper studies the regional (land/water interface), seasonal and diurnal variability of the CG strokes as a function of density, polarity and peak current. Additional investigation uniquely links the CG stroke current to sea surface salinity and cloud electrical capacitance. In brief, this study's major findings area as follows: (1) The seasonal maps of thunder days agree well with the regional climatic convective characteristics of the study area, (2) the CG diurnal variability is consistent with the global lightning activity observations over land and ocean, (3) the maxima of monthly averaged CG counts are located over land and water during typical summer and fall months respectively for both polarities, (4) CG peak currents show a distinct seasonality with larger currents during relatively colder months and smaller currents during summer months, and (5) strong linear trends between -CGs and sea surface salinity; (6) this trend is absent for +CGs data analysis of the employed database relate to the thunderstorm's RC constant and agrees with previous numerical modeling studies.

[Attitude survey of radiological technologists toward qualification acquisition of licentiate and degrees in Mie prefecture].

PubMed

Nakanishi, Satoshi; Kamigiri, Akira; Yamada, Tsuyoshi; Nanba, Kazuyoshi; Kitano, Tokio; Ito, Morihiro

2011-01-01

We conducted a questionnaire consciousness survey concerning qualification acquisition of licentiate and degrees among 406 radiological technologists working for medical facility in Mie Prefecture. We employed a mail-back questionnaire method. Then we analyzed relationships between progressive purpose and gender, age, and membership of the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JSRT). Results derived note the most common licentiate the participants wanted to acquire was the license concerning emergency medical care. On the other hand, they had limited interest in radiation therapy, nuclear medicine areas and the working environment measurement expert class I. In conclusion, the results of this study revealed the present condition that the necessity of qualification acquisition of licentiate is not recognized incorrectly. In addition, there was a mountain of issues for working radiological technologists to attend graduate school to get degrees. It is important to utilize the results of this study to enlighten their consciousness for limited interest licentiate, and interest them in attending graduate schools.

Current status of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Beyla and Macenta Prefectures, Forest Guinea.

PubMed

Hodges, Mary; Koroma, Manso M; Baldé, Mamadou S; Turay, Hamid; Fofanah, Ibrahim; Divall, Mark J; Winkler, Mirko S; Zhang, Yaobi

2011-11-01

A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in children aged 9-14 years in Beyla and Macenta Prefectures, Forest Guinea. Stool samples were examined by Kato-Katz and urine samples were examined by the centrifugation method. The overall prevalence and intensity of infection was 66.2% and 462.4 eggs per gram of faeces (epg) for Schistosoma mansoni, 21.0% and 17.8 eggs per 10ml of urine for S. haematobium, 51.2% and 507.5 epg for hookworm, 8.1% and 89.1 epg for Ascaris lumbricoides and 2.4% and 16.7 epg for Trichuris trichiura. The overall prevalence of schistosomiasis (S. mansoni and/or S. haematobium) was 70.7%. The prevalence of schistosomiasis was similar to those reported in the 1990s in the region; however, the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths has since fallen. These findings illustrate the need for schistosomiasis control in Guinea. Copyright © 2011 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

First description of a fossil chamaeleonid from Greece and its relevance for the European biogeographic history of the group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgalis, Georgios L.; Villa, Andrea; Delfino, Massimo

2016-02-01

The fossil record of Chamaeleonidae is very scarce and any new specimen is therefore considered important for our understanding of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of the group. New specimens from the early Miocene of Aliveri (Evia Island), Greece constitute the only fossils of these lizards from southeastern Europe. Skull roofing material is tentatively attributed to the Czech species Chamaeleo cf. andrusovi, revealing a range extension for this taxon, whereas tooth-bearing elements are described as indeterminate chamaeleonids. The Aliveri fossils rank well among the oldest known reptiles from Greece, provide evidence for the dispersal routes of chameleons out of Africa towards the European continent and, additionally, imply strong affinities with coeval chamaeleonids from Central Europe.