Cultivation and Characterization of Cynara Cardunculus for Solid Biofuels Production in the Mediterranean Region

Technical specifications of solid biofuels are continuously improved towards the development and promotion of their market. Efforts in the Greek market are limited, mainly due to the climate particularity of the region, which hinders the growth of suitable biofuels. Taking also into account the increased oil prices and the high inputs required to grow most annual crops in Greece, cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is now considered the most important and promising sources for solid biofuel production in Greece in the immediate future. The reason is that cardoon is a perennial crop of Mediterranean origin, well adapted to the xerothermic conditions of southern Europe, which can be utilized particularly for solid biofuel production. This is due to its minimum production cost, as this perennial weed may perform high biomass productivity on most soils with modest or without any inputs of irrigation and agrochemicals. Within this framework, the present research work is focused on the planning and analysis of different land use scenarios involving this specific energy crop and the combustion behaviour characterization for the solid products. Such land use scenarios are based on quantitative estimates of the crop'sproduction potential under specific soil-climatic conditions as well as the inputs required for its realization in comparison to existing conventional crops. Concerning its decomposition behaviour, devolatilisation and char combustion tests were performed in a non-isothermal thermogravimetric analyser (TA Q600). A kinetic analysis was applied and accrued results were compared with data already available for other lignocellulosic materials. The thermogravimetric analysis showed that the decomposition process of cardoon follows the degradation of other lignocellulosic fuels, meeting high burnout rates. This research work concludes that Cynara cardunculus, under certain circumstances, can be used as a solid biofuel of acceptable quality

Suicide mortality on the island of Crete, Greece, during the psychiatric reform: epidemiological and forensic approach

The present dissertation is divided in two parts: a) an epidemiological study of suicide on the Greek island of Crete for the years 1999-2010 inclusive, and b) a psychological autopsy study of completed suicides. Subsequently, another objective is to describe suicide registration in Greece, and to assess the accuracy of the official published suicide data for the Greek island of Crete. Data were collected from the Department of Forensic Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Crete and the State Service of Forensic Medicine of Western Crete. The sample of the psychological autopsy study consisted of all 374 subjects whose deaths received a suicide verdict and occurred between January 1999 and December 2007. Information was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with the next-of-kin of the suicide victims, and from a variety of other sources. Furthermore, suicide data from the medico-legal system records in the region were compared with the suicide mortality data provided by the official source, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT.) for the years 1999-2009.The main findings were (i) the overall age-standardized suicide rate (5.9 per 100,000) and the mean age-standardized suicide rate of 9.4/100,000 for males and 2.3/100,000 for females were the highest so far reported among other Greek regions; (ii) there was a reduction in the overall and male-/female suicide rates, but statistically insignificant; (iii) there were no data to support a causal link between the recent economic crisis and suicide mortality in the region; (iv) suicide rates decreased significantly among the individuals less than 30 years old, whereas among the elderly (75+) a significant increasing trend was observed; (v) a significant reduction of annual suicide rate by 11% in the prefecture of Chania was observed; (vi) rural suicide rates were twice as high as urban rates; (vii) statistically significant suicide seasonality was established with a peak in June; (viii) suicide methods were mostly violent, hanging being the most common for both genders; (ix) the victims’ gender, age, marital status and place of residence were associated with the choice of the suicide method; (x) psychiatric morbidity and previous self-harm were less than generally reported; (xi) there was evidence of a profound suicidal intent and intensive planning of the suicidal act in the majority of cases; (xii) 31.1% of the certified suicides in the medico-legal system records for the period 1999-2009, were not officially registered as such.Η παρούσα διατριβή διακρίνεται σε δύο τμήματα: α) μια επιδημιολογική μελέτη της αυτοκτονίας στην περιφέρεια Κρήτης για τα έτη 1999-2010, και β) μια μελέτη ψυχολογικής αυτοψίας. Παράλληλα, ένας συμπληρωματικός στόχος είναι η παρουσίαση της επίσημης διαδικασίας καταγραφής των θανάτων από αυτοκτονία στην Ελλάδα, και η αξιολόγηση της ακρίβειας των δημοσιευμένων επίσημων στοιχείων αυτοκτονίας για την περιφέρεια Κρήτης. Η συλλογή των δεδομένων της έρευνας πραγματοποιήθηκε από τα αρχεία του Εργαστηρίου Ιατροδικαστικών Επιστημών του Πανεπιστημιακού Γενικού Νοσοκομείου Ηρακλείου (ΠαΓΝΗ), καθώς και τα αρχεία της Ιατροδικαστικής Υπηρεσίας Κρήτης. Το δείγμα της ψυχολογικής αυτοψίας αποτέλεσαν οι 374 περιπτώσεις αυτοκτονίας, οι οποίες πραγματοποιήθηκαν μεταξύ Ιανουαρίου 1999 και Δεκεμβρίου 2007. Οι πληροφορίες συλλέχθηκαν μέσω της διεξαγωγής ημιδομημένων συνεντεύξεων με το συγγενικό περιβάλλον των θυμάτων αυτοκτονίας, και από μια ποικιλία άλλων πηγών. Επίσης, πραγματοποιήθηκε σύγκριση των θανάτων από αυτοκτονία από τα αρχεία των ιατροδικαστικών υπηρεσιών της περιφέρειας Κρήτης με τις επίσημα καταγεγραμμένες αυτοκτονίες στα αρχεία της Ελληνικής Στατιστικής Υπηρεσίας (ΕΛΣΤΑΤ) για το χρονικό διάστημα 1999-2009.Τα κύρια συμπεράσματα ήταν (i) οι μέσοι προτυποποιημένοι ως προς την ηλικία ΔΑ για το σύνολο του πληθυσμού (5.9/100.000), για τους άνδρες 9.4/100.000, και για τις γυναίκες 2.3/100.000, ήταν από τους υψηλότερους που έχουν καταγραφεί μέχρι σήμερα σε δημοσιευμένες ερευνητικές εργασίες από άλλες περιοχές της Ελλάδος, (ii) παρατηρήθηκε μια μείωση τόσο του συνολικού όσο και των κατά φύλο ΔΑ, ωστόσο μη στατιστικά σημαντική, (iii) δεν υπήρξαν επαρκή στοιχεία που να υποστηρίζουν την ύπαρξη αιτιώδους σχέσεως μεταξύ της πρόσφατης οικονομικής κρίσης και της θνησιμότητας από αυτοκτονία στην περιοχή, (iv) παρατηρήθηκε μια στατιστικά σημαντική μείωση του ΔΑ της ηλικιακής ομάδας κάτω των 30 ετών, ενώ αντιστρόφως παρατηρήθηκε μια στατιστικά σημαντική αύξηση του ΔΑ των ατόμων της τέταρτης ηλικίας (75+), (v) παρατηρήθηκε μια στατιστικά σημαντική ετήσια μείωση του ΔΑ στο νομό Χανίων κατά 11%, (vi) οι δείκτες αυτοκτονίας των αγροτικών περιοχών ήταν υπερδιπλάσιοι από τους αντίστοιχους των αστικών περιοχών, (vii) παρατηρήθηκε μια εποχική διακύμανση των θανάτων από αυτοκτονία, με στατιστικά σημαντική υψηλότερη συχνότητα το μήνα Ιούνιο, (viii) οι μέθοδοι αυτοκτονίας ήταν κατά κύριο λόγο βίαιες, με συχνότερη τον απαγχονισμό και στα δύο φύλα, (ix) το φύλο, η ηλικία, η οικογενειακή κατάσταση και η περιοχή διαμονής των αυτοχείρων συσχετίστηκαν με την επιλογή της μεθόδου αυτοκτονίας, (x) το ποσοστό ψυχιατρικής νοσηρότητας και ύπαρξης προηγούμενης απόπειρας αυτοκτονίας ήταν χαμηλότερο από εκείνο της διεθνής βιβλιογραφίας, (xi) υπήρχαν ενδείξεις ενός υψηλού βαθμού αυτοκτονικής πρόθεσης και σχεδιασμού της πράξης στην πλειοψηφία των περιπτώσεων αυτοκτονίας, (xii) το 31.1% των αυτοκτονιών από τα αρχεία των ιατροδικαστικών υπηρεσιών της περιόδου 1999-2009, δεν είχε καταγραφεί επίσημα υπό αυτή τη μορφή

‘Suicide rates in Crete, Greece during the economic crisis: the effect of age, gender, unemployment and mental health service provision’

Abstract Background Recently, suicides in Greece have drawn national and international interest due to the current economic crisis. According to published reports, suicides in Greece have increased up to 40% and Crete has been highlighted as an area with the sharpest increase. Aim To investigate the suicide mortality rates in Crete between 1999 and 2013 and their association with the economic crisis. Methods Data on suicides were selected from the Department of Forensic Medicine files of the University of Crete. Results Our analysis showed that (1) Crete, has the highest suicide mortality rate in Greece, however no significant increase was observed between 1999 and 2013, (2) there were opposing trends between men and women, with women showing a decrease whereas men showed an increase in that period, (3) there was a significant increase of suicides in middle-aged men (40–64 yrs) and elderly, although the highest unemployment rates were observed in young men and women, and (4) finally, there was a regional shift of suicides with a significant decrease in Western Crete and a significant increase in Eastern Crete. Conclusions Although, Crete has the highest suicide mortality rates in Greece, we did not observe an overall increase during the last 15 years, including the period of economic crisis. Furthermore, there was an increase in middle-aged and elderly men, whereas young men and women showed oppositional trends during the years of austerity. This may be related to the culturally different expectations for the two genders, as well as that younger individuals may find refuge to either strong family ties or by immigrating abroad. Finally, the relative increase of suicides in Eastern Crete may be explained by factors, such as the lack of community mental health services in that area