Development and evaluation of open web-gis technologies and interoperability standards for the management and delivery of remote sensing data and products

Η ανάπτυξη του ελεύθερου λογισμικού και λογισμικού ανοιχτού κώδικα έδωσε νέα πνοή στην επιστήμη της Γεωπληροφορικής, αλλά και στις επιστήμες που σχετίζονται άμεσα με αυτήν, όπως η ψηφιακή Τηλεπισκόπηση και τα Γεωγραφικά συστήματα Πληροφοριών. Οι δύο βασικοί οργανισμοί που προάγουν το ελεύθερο λογισμικό και τα ανοιχτά πρότυπα στο χώρο της Γεωπληροφορικής, είναι το OsGeo και το OGC μέσω των οποίων έχουν αναπτυχθεί και αναπτύσσονται πληθώρα εργαλείων και γεωχωρικών λογισμικών. Στο πλαίσιο της Διπλωματικής εργασίας, χρησιμοποιώντας τις σύγχρονες τεχνολογίες του οργανισμού OsGeo και των ανοιχτών προτύπων διαλειτουργικότητας του οργανισμού OGC, αναπτύχθηκε μία διαδικτυακή εφαρμογή η οποία έχει σαν κύριο στόχο την άντληση πληροφοριών από τηλεπισκοπικά δεδομένα και προϊόντα. Η πλατφόρμα πάνω στην οποία βασίστηκε είναι το GeoNode το οποίο αποτελείται από διαδεδομένες και ισχυρές τεχνολογίες, όπως το OpenLayers, το GeoExt, τον GeoServer, το Pycsw κ.α, ενώ ως σύστημα διαχείρισης χρησιμοποιείται το Django. Τα δορυφορικά δεδομένα που περιλαμβάνονται έχουν ληφθεί από τον δορυφόρο Landsat 8 και έχουν επεξεργαστεί τοπικά χρησιμοποιώντας τη βιβλιοθήκη GDAL και το λογισμικό QGIS. Συγκεκριμένα, περιλαμβάνονται δεδομένα από την περιοχή της Πελοποννήσου και της Στερεάς Ελλάδας την περίοδο Απρίλιος 2013 – Ιανουάριος 2014, αλλά και από το μεγαλύτερο μέρος της Ελλάδας την περίοδο του Αυγούστου 2013. Τα δεδομένα έχουν επεξεργαστεί χρησιμοποιώντας τεχνικές Τηλεπισκόπησης με στόχο να δημιουργηθούν προϊόντα που αποτυπώνουν πληροφορίες σχετικά με την βλάστηση και πιο συγκεκριμένα με την ευρωστία της στον Ελληνικό χώρο. Εκτός από τα δορυφορικά δεδομένα η εφαρμογή υποστηρίζει επεξεργασίες γεωμετρικών χαρακτηριστικών με το πρότυπο WPS, όπως η δημιουργία ζώνης (buffer), η ένωση (union) και η τομή (intersection) γεωμετρικών στοιχείων. Η εφαρμογή ανταποκρίνεται σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό στον αρχικό στόχο που είχε τεθεί, εμφανίζοντας αξιόπιστα αποτελέσματα. Για την ανάπτυξη της σε τοπικό περιβάλλον χρησιμοποιήθηκε το λειτουργικό OpenSuse 13.1, ενώ στο περιβάλλον παραγωγής, το λειτουργικό Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.The development of free and open source software has upgraded the science of Geoinformatics but also sciences directly related to it such as Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems. The two main organizations that promote free software and open standards in the field of Geoinformatics are OsGeo and OGC. These organizations have created a wide range of tools and geospatial software that continue to develop. In this thesis a web application was created so that information could be obtained from remote sensing data and products by using modern technologies from OsGeo and open interoperability standards from OGC. The platform the application is based on is GeoNode. GeoNode, consists of widely used and powerful technologies such as OpenLayers, GeoExt, GeoServer and Pycsw, while its managment system is made of Django. The satellite data are received from satellite Landsat 8 and processed locally with GDAL library and QGIS. More specifically, they include data from the Peloponnese and central Greece region from April 2013-January 2014, while the period of August 2013 includes data from almost the entire area of the Greek territory. The data have been processed with Remote Sensing techniques in order to create data products about the vegetation and particularly the canopy of Greek area. Apart from satellite data, this application maintains processes on geometric characteristics with standard WPS such as buffer, union and intersection of geometrical data. The application responds largely to the original set target by displaying reliable results. For the development in local environment the operating system OpenSuse 13.1 was used, whereas in production environment Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.Πετράκης Γεώργιο

Σύνθεση και χαρακτηρισμός συμπλόκων του Ni(II) με παράγωγο της 2,9-(διμέθυλο)-1,10-φαινανθρολινης (PDAM). Μελέτη της αλληλεπίδρασης των συμπλόκων με CT-DNA και BSA.

Αυτή η ερευνητική εργασία ασχολείται με την σύνθεση, το χαρακτηρισμό και την δραστικότητα του συμπλόκου του νικελίου (ΙΙ) με παράγωγο της 1,10-φαινανθρολίνης (PDAM). Η επιλογή του υποκαταστάτη έγινε εξαιτίας της αλληλεπίδρασης της PDAM, καθώς και άλλων παραγώγων της, με το δεοξυριβονουκλεϊκό οξύ (DNA) και τις πρωτεΐνες των οργανισμών, μιας και φαίνεται να έχουν σημαντική βιολογική δραστικότητα κυρίως ως θεραπευτικοί παράγοντες. Μέσα από αρκετές φασματοσκοπικές τεχνικές (UV-Vis, Fluorescence, IR, MS, και CD) επιβεβαιώθηκε τόσο η δομή του υποκαταστάτη όσο και η επιτυχής σύμπλεξη του με το Ni(II). Επίσης, διερευνήθηκε ο τρόπος αλληλεπίδρασης του παραγόμενου συμπλόκου Ni-PDAM με CT-DNA και την πρωτεΐνη BSA (Βovine Serum Αlbumin), αξιοποιώντας αρκετές τεχνικές όπως: φασματοσκοπία UV-Vis, φθορισμομετρία (Fluorescence), κυκλικός διχρωϊσμός (CD) και η υδροδυναμική μέθοδο της ιξωδομετρίας (Viscosity). Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι ο υποκαταστάτης PDAM αλληλεπιδρά με το CT-DNA μέσω παρεμβολής (κλασσικής ή μη κλασσικής). Το σύμπλοκο όμως, παρουσιάζει διαφορετική εικόνα μιας και δείχνει περισσότερους από έναν τρόπους αλληλεπίδρασης. Μάλιστα, ο τρόπος αυτός εξαρτάται εξαρτώνται από τους λόγους R=[Ni-PDAM]/[DNA]. Έτσι, προτείνεται κλασσική παρεμβολή με ταυτόχρονη δέσμευση στη μικρή αύλακα. Όσον αφορά την αλληλεπίδραση του συμπλόκου με την πρωτεΐνη BSA, φάνηκε να δεσμεύεται τόσο ισχυρά στο σημείο Sudlow I ώστε να είναι εφικτή η μεταφορά του στο αίμα. Ακόμα, η φθορισμομετρία έδειξε εκλεκτικότητα στη συσσώρευση του συμπλόκου σε αυτά, σε αντίθεση με τον υποκαταστάτη και το Ni(H2O)6Cl2. Τέλος μελετήθηκε η ανταγωνιστική δράση του συμπλόκου με φάρμακα (phenylbutazone και ibuprofen) που είναι ήδη γνωστό ότι δεσμεύονται στα σημεία Sudlow I και ΙΙ αντίστοιχα, με σκοπό την ανίχνευση του σημείου αλληλεπίδρασης του.The aim of the present thesis is the synthesis and characterization of Ni(II) complex with derivative of 1,10-phenanthroline (PDAM). The selection of the ligand was made due to the interaction of 1,10-phenanthroline and its derivatives with DNA and proteins, showing significant biological activity as potential therapeutic agents. The corresponding Ni(II) complex (Ni-PDAM) was successfully synthesized and fully characterized by various spectroscopic techniques (IR, UV-Vis, Fluorescence, MS, CD). Hence, the interaction of Ni-PDAM with CT-DNA and protein BSA (bovine serum albumin) was studied with the techniques of Circular Dichroism (CD), UV-Vis, Fluorescence and the hydrodynamic method of Viscometry. The PDAM ligand was found to interact with CT-DNA via intercalation (classical or non-classical). On the other hand, the complex appears to interact in more than one way and the types of interaction depend on the ratio R=[Ni-PDAM]/[DNA]. Thus, classical intercalation is proposed by simultaneously a type of binding in minor groove of DNA accompanying with intercalation. In the matter of BSA-complex interaction, strong binding in Sudlow site I was determined. The results, reveal that BSA is a perfect carrier for the complex. In addition, fluorescence studies resulted in increasing selectivity of Ni-PDAM to the cancer cells, in contrast to PDAM and Ni(H2O)6Cl2. Finally, the competitive effect of the complex was studied with drugs (phenylbutazone and ibuprofen) that are already known to bind to Sudlow I and II sites, respectively, in order to detect its site of interaction

Synchronous Presence of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Marginal Zone (MALT-Type) B-Cell Lymphoma in the Pharynx

Synchronous malignancy of squamous cell carcinoma and malignant lymphoma in the head and neck region is extremely rare. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a nonlymphomatous, squamous cell carcinoma that occurs in the nasopharyngeal epithelium. Reported herein is a unique case of nasopharyngeal carcinoma occurring simultaneously with MALT-type lymphoma in an 83-year-old woman, who complained of deglutition dysfunction. Endoscopic examination of respective organs revealed a submucosal tumour on the posterior wall of pharynx. Biopsy of the hypopharynx was taken and sent for histological examination, which revealed two different neoplasms. Immunohistochemical and molecular analysis confirmed the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma coexisting with a MALT-type lymphoma

Rare non-Wilms' tumors in children

We report our institutional experience of the management of 2 cases of rare non-Wilms' tumors; a rhabdoid tumor in a 17-month old boy and a clear cell sarcoma in a 5-year old girl. The two patients were treated with ifosfamide/carboplatin/etoposide (ICE) alternating with vincristine/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (VDC) and cyclophosphamide/etoposide (CE) alternating with vincristine/doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (VDC) and radiotherapy, respectively. Both patients showed full response with no significant adverse events. At 2-year follow up, they are disease and relapse free. Although contemporary treatment regimens are very promising, multicenter collaborative studies are needed in order to define a standard treatment for non-Wilms' tumors

A dissection of SARS‑CoV2 with clinical implications (Review)

We are being confronted with the most consequential pandemic since the Spanish flu of 1918‑1920 to the extent that never before have 4 billion people quarantined simultaneously; to address this global challenge we bring to the forefront the options for medical treatment and summarize SARS‑CoV2 structure and functions, immune responses and known treatments. Based on literature and our own experience we propose new interventions, including the use of amiodarone, simvastatin, pioglitazone and curcumin. In mild infections (sore throat, cough) we advocate prompt local treatment for the naso‑pharynx (inhalations; aerosols; nebulizers); for moderate to severe infections we propose a tried‑and‑true treatment: the combination of arginine and ascorbate, administered orally or intravenously. The material is organized in three sections: i) Clinical aspects of COVID‑19; acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); known treatments; ii) Structure and functions of SARS‑CoV2 and proposed antiviral drugs; iii) The combination of arginine‑ascorbate

Textbook outcome in urgent early cholecystectomy for acute calculous cholecystitis: results post hoc of the S.P.Ri.M.A.C.C study

Introduction: A textbook outcome patient is one in which the operative course passes uneventful, without complications, readmission or mortality. There is a lack of publications in terms of TO on acute cholecystitis. Objetive: The objective of this study is to analyze the achievement of TO in patients with urgent early cholecystectomy (UEC) for Acute Cholecystitis. and to identify which factors are related to achieving TO. Materials and methods: This is a post hoc study of the SPRiMACC study. It ́s a prospective multicenter observational study run by WSES. The criteria to define TO in urgent early cholecystectomy (TOUEC) were no 30-day mortality, no 30-day postoperative complications, no readmission within 30 days, and hospital stay ≤ 7 days (75th percentile), and full laparoscopic surgery. Patients who met all these conditions were taken as presenting a TOUEC. Outcomes: 1246 urgent early cholecystectomies for ACC were included. In all, 789 patients (63.3%) achieved all TOUEC parameters, while 457 (36.6%) failed to achieve one or more parameters and were considered non-TOUEC. The patients who achieved TOUEC were younger had significantly lower scores on all the risk scales analyzed. In the serological tests, TOUEC patients had lower values for in a lot of variables than non-TOUEC patients. The TOUEC group had lower rates of complicated cholecystitis. Considering operative time, a shorter duration was also associated with a higher probability of reaching TOUEC. Conclusion: Knowledge of the factors that influence the TOUEC can allow us to improve our results in terms of textbook outcome

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity > 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI

Goodbye Hartmann trial: a prospective, international, multicenter, observational study on the current use of a surgical procedure developed a century ago

Background: Literature suggests colonic resection and primary anastomosis (RPA) instead of Hartmann's procedure (HP) for the treatment of left-sided colonic emergencies. We aim to evaluate the surgical options globally used to treat patients with acute left-sided colonic emergencies and the factors that leading to the choice of treatment, comparing HP and RPA. Methods: This is a prospective, international, multicenter, observational study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. A total 1215 patients with left-sided colonic emergencies who required surgery were included from 204 centers during the period of March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020. with a 1-year follow-up. Results: 564 patients (43.1%) were females. The mean age was 65.9 ± 15.6 years. HP was performed in 697 (57.3%) patients and RPA in 384 (31.6%) cases. Complicated acute diverticulitis was the most common cause of left-sided colonic emergencies (40.2%), followed by colorectal malignancy (36.6%). Severe complications (Clavien-Dindo ≥ 3b) were higher in the HP group (P < 0.001). 30-day mortality was higher in HP patients (13.7%), especially in case of bowel perforation and diffused peritonitis. 1-year follow-up showed no differences on ostomy reversal rate between HP and RPA. (P = 0.127). A backward likelihood logistic regression model showed that RPA was preferred in younger patients, having low ASA score (≤ 3), in case of large bowel obstruction, absence of colonic ischemia, longer time from admission to surgery, operating early at the day working hours, by a surgeon who performed more than 50 colorectal resections. Conclusions: After 100 years since the first Hartmann's procedure, HP remains the most common treatment for left-sided colorectal emergencies. Treatment's choice depends on patient characteristics, the time of surgery and the experience of the surgeon. RPA should be considered as the gold standard for surgery, with HP being an exception