A review of Dichorrhinus Desbrochers, 1875 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) with two new species from Greece and Turkey, and from Cyprus

The species of the Eastern Mediterranean genus Dichorrhinus Desbrochers, 1875 are reviewed. D. geiseri sp. nov. is described from Samos Island (Greece) and Western Turkey, and D. alziari sp. nov. is described from Cyprus. Dichorrhinus korbi Schilsky, 1911 is redescribed. An illustrated key to the species of Dichorrhinus is provided, and new records are presented

"The Milk of Birds": A Proverbial Phrase, Ancient and Modern, and its Link to Nature

A curious phrase from ancient Greek, ὀρνίθων γάλα, finds parallels in Latin as lac gallinaceum and in Modern Greek, as και του πουλιού το γάλα. While the Greek phrases translate as "(and) the milk of (the) bird(s)", the Latin translates as "henʼs milk". This essay discusses the phrase in a select variety of Greek and Latin sources from the 5th century BCE to the 4th century CE, and its Modern Greek equivalent in the 21st century. In addition, it discusses the variety of meanings and uses found in those sources, and connections to the natural world. Information from ancient sources has been gleaned from a search of the Digital Loeb Classical Library online database. Information for modern use comes from informal interviews, Facebook messages, e-mails, and telephone messages of nine native speakers of Modern Greek from different parts of the Greek world, most of whom live in the United States. The essay discusses two points concerning the natural world: first, the phrase as found in the names of certain plants, and second, as a substance called crop-milk produced by members of the pigeon family. The linguistic connection between ancient and modern worlds and the parallels found in nature encourage scholars to look "outside the box" when investigating proverbs, proverbial expressions and proverbial phrases. The Modern Greek version of the phrase both confirms and expands the meanings of the ancient ones, thus suggesting that other connections between these ancient and modern languages may prove to be fruitful avenues of investigation.

A feasibility study for the provision of electronic healthcare tools and services in areas of Greece, Cyprus and Italy

Background: Through this paper, we present the initial steps for the creation of an integrated platform for the provision of a series of eHealth tools and services to both citizens and travelers in isolated areas of thesoutheast Mediterranean, and on board ships travelling across it. The platform was created through an INTERREG IIIB ARCHIMED project called INTERMED. Methods: The support of primary healthcare, home care and the continuous education of physicians are the three major issues that the proposed platform is trying to facilitate. The proposed system is based on state-of-the-art telemedicine systems and is able to provide the following healthcare services: i) Telecollaboration and teleconsultation services between remotely located healthcare providers, ii) telemedicine services in emergencies, iii) home telecare services for "at risk" citizens such as the elderly and patients with chronic diseases, and iv) eLearning services for the continuous training through seminars of both healthcare personnel (physicians, nurses etc) and persons supporting "at risk" citizens. These systems support data transmission over simple phone lines, internet connections, integrated services digital network/digital subscriber lines, satellite links, mobile networks (GPRS/3G), and wireless local area networks. The data corresponds, among others, to voice, vital biosignals, still medical images, video, and data used by eLearning applications. The proposed platform comprises several systems, each supporting different services. These were integrated using a common data storage and exchange scheme in order to achieve system interoperability in terms of software, language and national characteristics. Results: The platform has been installed and evaluated in different rural and urban sites in Greece, Cyprus and Italy. The evaluation was mainly related to technical issues and user satisfaction. The selected sites are, among others, rural health centers, ambulances, homes of "at-risk" citizens, and a ferry. Conclusions: The results proved the functionality and utilization of the platform in various rural places in Greece, Cyprus and Italy. However, further actions are needed to enable the local healthcare systems and the different population groups to be familiarized with, and use in their everyday lives, mature technological solutions for the provision of healthcare services

Comparative analysis of carrying capacity indices for the central Aegean Islands

The tourist industry is one of the most important economic activities in Greece. The country receives over 14 million visitors per year. In an era where tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the developing countries the competition with existing tourism destinations, such as Greece, will intensify. Greece has enjoyed increasing numbers and revenues from tourism due to the unique environment both natural and man-made making it a high profile tourist destination. However, it is already clear, that the uncontrolled growth of the industry can bring serious environmental and social problems, leading to a decline in the quality of tourist product and services provided. Such negative effects can be controlled and reduced using environmental and tourism indices to estimate the impact of tourism and other businesses on the environment. The purpose of this paper is to apply the principles of coastal environmental management for the Islands in the central Aegean Sea islands via the carrying capacity assessment methodology in order to develop environmental performance indicators necessary for formulating a novel sustainable development policy proposal for Greek tourism.peer-reviewe

DNA markers confirm presence of \u3cem\u3eEuscorpius avcii\u3c/em\u3e Tropea et al., 2012 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) on Samos Island, Greece

Euscorpius avcii Tropea et al., 2012 has been recently described from Dilek Peninsula in western Anatolia (Turkey, Aydın Province). The population from Samos Island in eastern part of the Aegean Sea is found to match closely the Anatolian E. avcii, making it a new, rare species for the Greek fauna, confirmed by two DNA markers as well as morphology. Samos also shares with western Anatolia two other local recently described scorpion species, Iurus kinzelbachi and Neocalchas gruberi (family Iuridae)

Underground quarries in the area of Agiades, Samos Island, Greece: Notes on historical topography and chronology

Η εργασία παρουσιάζει την ανάγκη για την καταγραφή και την σύγκριση των ιχνών που αφήνουν τα εργαλεία στο μέτωπο ενός λατομείου, με στόχο να συναχθεί η χρονολογική διαδοχή των διαφορετικών φάσεων εξόρυξης του ασβεστόλιθου στα υπόγεια λατομεία των Αγιάδων Χώρας Σάμου. Μέχρι τώρα συμπεραίνουμε μια αρχαϊκή και μια ρωμαϊκή φάση εκμετάλλευσης βάσει της επιφανειακής κεραμικής, των εργαλείων, αλλά και των ιχνών που άφησαν οι ακμές των εργαλείων στον λίθο. Παράλληλα εξετάζονται συγκριτικά, τα ίδια τα μνημεία και ανάλογα υπόγεια λατομεία στην Κρήτη. Η εγγύτητα των λατομείων με τέμενος του Απόλλωνος και των Νυμφών συγκρίνεται με άλλες περιπτώσεις στον ελληνικό κόσμο. Σε μια προσπάθεια να κατανοηθεί η κοινωνική θέση των λατόμων και το επίπεδο της γνώσης ανάγνωσης και γραφής αυτών συσχετίστηκαν στοιχεία από τα χαράγματα (graffiti) στο Ευπαλίνειο όρυγμα με την απουσία πατρικού και εθνικού ονόματος, απουσία που παρατηρείται σε άλλα λατομεία στο Αιγαίο. Τα στοιχεία αυτά συνδυάστηκαν με τον χαρακτηρισμό των Σαμίων ως «πολυγραμμάτων». Η συχνή εμφάνιση των αρχικών ΗΡ σε πλάκες του Ευπαλινείου ορύγματος ίσως αποτελεί έναν υπαινιγμό για τον έλεγχο του Ηραίου στα λατομεία των Αγιάδων.This paper shows the need for cataloguing and comparing tool marks left on the quarries’ front in order for the chronological sequence of the different phases of limestone exposed in underground quarries at Agiades, Chora Samos, to be assessed. Up to now, an archaic and a roman phase of exploitation is inferred by surface pottery, tools, tool marks, the monuments themselves, and parallels from underground quarries on the island of Crete. The proximity of the quarries to a temenos of Apollo and the Nymphs is comparable to other cases from the Greek world. In an attempt to understand the social status of the quarrymen and their level of literacy, data from the graffiti observed in Eupalinos’ tunnel were correlated with the lack of patronym and ethnonym observed in quarries in the Aegean, and related to the characterization of the Samians as «πολυγράμματοι». A control of Hera’s sanctuary over the quarries at Agiades is implied by the frequent appearance of the letters HP on slabs used in Eupalinos’ tunnel

Merodon chalybeus Subgroup: An Additional Piece of the M. aureus Group (Diptera, Syrphidae) Puzzle

In this study, we examined the morphology, genetics and distribution of the members of the Merodon chalybeus subgroup (M. aureus species group): M. chalybeus Wiedemann in Meigen, 1822, M. minutus Strobl, 1893 and M. robustus Veselić, Vujić & Radenković, 2017. Two of the species, M. chalybeus and M. minutus, are morphologically very similar and often misidentified in the literature. Here, by employing an integrative taxonomic approach we provide strong evidence for the separation of M. chalybeus and M. minutus. Our results show their clear allopatric distribution: M. minutus on the Balkan Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, while M. chalybeus is a western Mediterranean species distributed on the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa. Data on the distribution of M. robustus were updated, with new records from Cyprus, Israel and Turkey, besides its type locality (Samos in Greece). We provide evidence for M. chalybeus and M. minutus representing a species complex, named the M. chalybeus complex, which together with M. robustus constitute the M. chalybeus subgroup.Peer reviewe