EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY DEVELOPMENT VIA SCHOOL GARDEN

The garden can be viewed as an imitation of nature in an urban setting. In past times, many educators aware of the importance of nature in the education process were avid supporters of the school garden. Many studies that examined the influence of the school garden in the education process have shown that it offers multiple benefits to the students, one of which is that it furthers experiential learning. Students involved in gardening improve their overall academic performance and increases their interest in learning. It also seems to have positive effects on their overall behavior and on their emotional and social health. In the results of studies, we can also see the students who participated in gardening showed remarkable improvement in their overall physical health, and that they often adopted better nutritional habits. Finally, the school garden can serve as a portal for the students and for the school in general, to introduce them to environmental education and to sustainability in both theory and practice.  Article visualizations

Σύνθεση και χαρακτηρισμός pH/θερμο- ευαίσθητων πολυμερικών νανοδοχείων εμπλουτισμένων με κβαντικές τελείες για εφαρμογές διαγνωσοθεραπείας

Σήμερα, στον τομέα της νανοϊατρικής, τα νανοϋλικά χρησιμοποιούνται ευρέως ως φορείς για θερανωστικές εφαρμογές. Τα πλεονεκτήματα της χρήσης πολυμερών στη νανοϊατρική περιλαμβάνουν βιοσυμβατότητα, δομική ευκαμψία, χαμηλή τοξικότητα και χαμηλό κόστος. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία, εστιάζουμε στη στρατηγική δύο σταδίων: 1. αρχικά παρασκευάζονται πολυμερικές νανοσφαίρες και 2. τροποποιούνται με ημιαγώγιμες κβαντικές τελείες (QDs). Αυτό το υβριδικό νανοϋλικό αναμένεται να βρει χρήση σε μια ποικιλία in vitro και in vivo βιολογικών εφαρμογών. Με την ευκολία να παρέχουν ταυτόχρονη θεραπεία και απεικόνιση υπό ελεγχόμενη μεταφορά, τα πολυμερικά νανοσωματίδια έχουν μεγάλες δυνατότητες στη βιοϊατρική έρευνα και εφαρμογές. Αυτή η εργασία περιγράφει τη σύνθεση pH/θερμο-ευαίσθητων, πολυμερικών νανοδοχείων τροποποιημένων με κβαντικές τελείες, οι οποίες έχουν σημαντικές ιδιότητες, για ενθυλάκωση φαρμάκου και απελευθέρωση στα κύτταρα-στόχους. Συγκεκριμένα, το υβριδικό νανοσωματίδιο θα συντεθεί σε διαδικασία δύο σταδίων. Στο πρώτο στάδιο, οι νανοσφαίρες αναπτύσσονται με τη χρήση ριζικού πολυμερισμού γαλακτώματος και στο δεύτερο στάδιο θα γίνεται η τροποποίηση με τις κβαντικές τελείες. Η μελέτη της κολλοειδούς συμπεριφοράς, ο δομικός και ο μορφολογικός χαρακτηρισμός των υβριδικών νανοσωματιδίων πραγματοποιήθηκε με DLS, FT-IR, UV/Vis, PL, SEM και TEM. Επιπλέον, η αιμόλυση και η μελάτη της κυτταροτοξικότητας μέσω της μεθόδου ΜΤΤ, αξιολογήθηκαν προκειμένου να εκτιμηθεί η βιοσυμβατότητα τους. Η μικροσκοπία φθορισμού χρησιμοποιήθηκε για τη διερεύνηση της πρόσληψης των υβριδικών νανοσφαιρών και τον εντοπισμό τους σε διαφορετικές κυτταρικές καλλιέργειες .Nowadays, in nanomedicine field, nanomaterials are widely used as carriers for theranostic applications. The advantages of using polymers in nanomedicine include biocompatibility, structural flexibility, low toxicity, and low cost. In this work, we focus on a two steps strategy: During the first step polymeric nanospheres were developed and in the second step nanospheres were decorated with semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) resulting a hybrid nanocontainer. This hybrid nanomaterial is expected to be applied in a variety of in vitro and in vivo biological applications. Based on their ability to provide simultaneous therapy and diagnosis under controlled conditions our systems have great potentials in biomedical research and applications. This work describes the synthesis of hollow pH/thermo-sensitive polymer nanospheres (NS) modified with QDs, which have the desired properties, for monitoring, drug loading and release to the targeted pathological area. In detail, the hybrid NS have been synthesized in two steps procedure. In the first step, NS developed by using radical emulsion polymerization and in the second step doping with QDs will be taken place creating simultaneously an inner cavity. NS have been evaluated structural and morphological by FT-IR, UV/Vis, PL, SEM and TEM respectively. Their colloidal stability was also investigating by DLS. Furthermore, the resulted NS@QDs have been evaluated biological. Hemolysis on Red blood cells and cytotoxicity via MTT assay, have been assessed in order to evaluate their biocompatibility. Fluorescent microscopy will be used to investigate the hybrid NS@QDs uptake and localization in different cell cultures

Τα μη πληρούντα τους όρους του νόμου αποδεικτικά μέσα

Για την προσέγγιση οποιουδήποτε θεσμού, εκτός από την έρευνα του θεωρητικού του θεμελίου, έχει αποδειχθεί ιδιαίτερα χρήσιμη και η αναφορά στην νομοθετική και νομολογιακή του διαδρομή. Για το λόγο αυτό, στο πλαίσιο της παρούσας μελέτης, η απόπειρα οριοθέτησης της έννοιας των αποδεικτικών μέσων που δεν πληρούν τους όρους του νόμου και αποσαφήνισής της από συγγενείς έννοιες όπως εκείνης των δικαστικών τεκμηρίων, θα στηριχθεί σε θεωρητικά, νομοθετικά και νομολογιακά δεδομένα . Κατά τη θεωρία, η εξέταση των αποδεικτικών μέσων, γίνεται σε σχέση είτε προς το παραδεκτό, είτε προς την εγκυρότητα αυτών . Η διαπίστωση έλλειψης οιασδήποτε προϋποθέσεως του παραδεκτού ή του κύρους τους, μετάγει αυτά στην κατηγορία των μη πληρούντων τους όρους του νόμου αποδεικτικών μέσων . Τέτοια μέσα λοιπόν είναι όσα παρουσιάζουν ελλείψεις ως προς τις προϋποθέσεις, είτε του επιτρεπτού, είτε της διαδικασίας παραγωγής τους. Οι πρώτες των προϋποθέσεων αυτών αφορούν αποδεικτικά μέσα τα οποία εκφεύγουν του καταλόγου του άρθρου 339 ΚΠολΔ, ενώ οι δεύτερες ανάγονται στη νομότυπη παραγωγή των επώνυμων αποδεικτικών μέσων. Κατά τον τρόπο αυτό λοιπόν κατά την επιστημονική θεωρία, τα ελαττωματικά επώνυμα αποδεικτικά μέσα ανήκουν στην κατηγορία των μη πληρούντων τους όρους του νόμου αποδεικτικών μέσων, ενώ τα ανώνυμα μέσα εμπίπτουν στην κατηγορία των δικαστικών τεκμηρίων. Ο όρος μη πληρούντα τους όρους του νόμου αποδεικτικά μέσα, αποδίδει το γερμανικό όρο “Beweisbehelfe” (βοηθήματα αποδείξεως), ο οποίος υπήρχε στη γερμανική διάταξη για την πιθανολόγηση, που μεταφέρθηκε αυτούσια στο άρθρο 255ΠολΔ/1835 , και συστεγάζει όλες τις αποδείξεις είτε αυτές είναι επώνυμες ελαττωματικές είτε είναι ανώνυμες, που εμφανίζονται μεταξύ άλλων με τις ονομασίες «ατελή», «άκυρα» αποδεικτικά μέσα .For the approach of any institution, apart from the theoretical foundation research, it has proved to be particularly useful to refer to its legislative and judicial path. According to theory, the examination of the evidence is made in relation to either the admissibility or the validity of the evidence.The finding of a lack of any condition of admissibility or prestige translates them into the category of non-compliance with the requirements of the Law. Thus, such means are shortcomings in terms of either the permissible or the production process. The first of these conditions concern evidence which is outside the list of Article 339 of the Code of Civil Procedure Law, while the latter are related to the proper production of branded evidence.Thus, according to scientific theory, defective branded evidence belongs to the category of non-compliance with the requirements of the law of evidence, while anonymous means fall within the category of judicial evidenc

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials in Boys with Autism: Still Searching for the Hidden Truth

How to Cite This Article: Ververi A, Vargiami E, V Papadopoulou V, Tryfonas D, Zafeiriou DI. Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials inBoys with Autism: Still Searching for the Hidden Truth. Iran J Child Neurol. Spring 2015;9(2):21-28.Abstract Objective Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) have long been utilized in the investigation of auditory modulation and, more specifically, auditory brainstem functions in individuals with autism. Although most investigators have reported significant abnormalities, no single BAEPs pattern has yet been identified. The present study further delineates the BAEPs deficits among subjects with autism. Materials & Methods BAEPs were recorded in 43 male patients, aged 35–104 months, who underwent standard evaluations after receiving a diagnosis of autism. The control group consisted of 43 age-matched typically developing boys. The study took place in a tertiary neurodevelopmental center over a period of two years. Results The mean values of all absolute and/or interpeak latencies were longer in patients when compared to controls, albeit the differences were not significant for any of the parameters. Prolonged or shortened absolute/interpeak latencies (control group mean ± 2.5SD) were unilaterally or bilaterally identified in 33% of patients, compared to 9% of controls. The most frequent findings included prolongation of absolute latencies I, V and III, followed by shortening of interpeak latency I-V. In addition, abnormalities (either shortening or prolongation) of absolute latencies I and V, as well as interpeak latency I-V, were significantly more common among patients. Taken together, BAEPs in 23% of patients were indicative of a clinically abnormal response in 32% of patients. Conclusion As can be easily concluded, BAEPs abnormalities characterize only a subset of subjects with autism, who may be important to identify clinically. The latter individuals may benefit from targeted intervention to utilize brainstem plasticity

Sustainable production and use of cleaner fish for the biological control of sea lice: recent advances and current challenges

Currently, cleaner fish are one of the most widely used sea lice control strategies in Atlantic salmon aquaculture. Two species are currently being farmed in North Atlantic countries, ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) and lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus), and the sector in most countries is rapidly expanding towards self-sufficiency. The species are very different both in terms of their biology and life histories and, consequently, production and husbandry methods must be tailored to each species. There are numerous health challenges currently experienced in both species, with bacterial and parasitic diseases being the most prevalent, and cohabitation with salmon may increase the risk of disease. Good husbandry and routine health monitoring are essential, although treatment is often required when disease outbreaks occur. Ballan wrasse and lumpfish are both proven to be effective salmon delousers, although delousing efficacy can be variable in farmed fish; the provision of suitable habitat and acclimation to net-pen conditions may encourage natural behaviours, including delousing, and the use of operational welfare indicators can highlight potential welfare issues. Cleaner fish research is progressing rapidly, although much of the basic knowledge regarding the species’ biology remains unknown. The simultaneous domestication of two new marine aquaculture species is a significant challenge demanding sustained effort and funding over a prolonged period of time. Research must focus on enhancing the robustness of the farmed stocks and increasing hatchery outputs to meet the urgent demands from the salmon sector and protect wild stocks from overfishing

Fatigue and progression of corpus callosum atrophy in multiple sclerosis

Fatigue is one of the most disabling symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. There is no or only weak correlation between conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters and level of fatigue. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between progression of corpus callosum (CC) atrophy and fatigue in MS patients. This was a cohort study in 70 patients with relapsing form of MS (RRMS) and serial MRIs over a mean follow-up of 4.8years [67% female, mean age 42±11years, mean disease duration 9.7±7.6years, mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 2.8±1.6]. Fatigue was assessed by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). CC size was measured with the CC index (CCI). In total, 40% of the patients suffered from fatigue (mean FSS score 5.3±1.1) and 60% patients had no fatigue (mean FSS score of 2.1±1). Patients with fatigue had higher EDSS scores (p=0.01) and CC atrophy was more pronounced in patients with fatigue (−21.8 vs. −12.1%, p=0.005). FSS correlated with CCI change over time (r=−0.33; p=0.009) and EDSS (p=0.008; r=0.361). The association between annualized CCI change and FSS was independent from EDSS, disease duration, gender and age in a multivariate linear regression analysis (p<0.001). Progression of CC atrophy may play a role in the evolution of MS-related fatigu

Bacterial Communities of Ballan Wrasse (Labrus bergylta) Eggs at a Commercial Marine Hatchery

Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta, Ascanius 1767) are cleaner fish cultured in northern Europe to remove sea lice from farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, Linnaeus 1758). Despite increasing appreciation for the importance of the microbiota on the phenotypes of vertebrates including teleosts, the microbiota of wrasse eggs has yet to be described. Therefore, the aim of this present study was to describe the bacterial component of the microbiota of ballan wrasse eggs shortly after spawning and at 5 days, once the eggs had undergone a routine incubation protocol that included surface disinfection steps in a common holding tank. Triplicate egg samples were collected from each of three spawning tanks and analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that 88.6% of reads could be identified to 186 taxonomic families. At Day 0, reads corresponding to members of the Vibrionaceae, Colwelliaceae and Rubritaleaceae families were detected at greatest relative abundances. Bacterial communities of eggs varied more greatly between tanks than between samples deriving from the same tank. At Day 5, there was a consistent reduction in 16S rRNA gene sequence richness across the tanks. Even though the eggs from the different tanks were incubated in a common holding tank, the bacterial communities of the eggs from the different tanks had diverged to become increasingly dissimilar. This suggests that the disinfection and incubation exerted differential effects of the microbiota of the eggs from each tank and that the influence of the tank water on the composition of the egg microbiota was lower than expected. This first comprehensive description of the ballan wrasse egg bacterial community is an initial step to understand the role and function of the microbiota on the phenotype of this fish. In future, mass DNA sequencing methods may be applied in hatcheries to screen for pathogens and as a tool to assess the health status of eggs

Atypical Aeromonas salmonicida vapA type V and Vibrio spp. are predominant bacteria recovered from ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta A.) in Scotland

Healthy and/or moribund farmed and wild ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta (>0.5 to 900 g) were sampled from hatcheries (n = 2) and Atlantic salmon cage sites (n = 8) in Scotland between February 2016 and October 2018. Less than half of the sampled individuals (n = 43, 32.3%) had been vaccinated (autogenous polyvalent vaccine; dip and/or injection) against atypical furunculosis (type V and VI) while 20 (15.0%) fish were not vaccinated and the rest (70 individuals, 52.7%) were of unknown vaccination status. Swab samples from skin lesions, gill, liver, spleen and kidney were inoculated onto a variety of bacteriological agar plates and bacteriology identification and sequencing analysis was performed on significant bacterial colonies. Atypical Aeromonas salmonicida (aAs) vapA type V was the predominant bacterial species (70/215 bacteria isolates; 32.5% of bacteria samples – 43/117 positive individual fish; 36.8%) isolated in this survey followed by Vibrio species which were the most geographically prevalent bacteria. Photobacterium indicum/profundum was also isolated from L. bergylta for the first time during this study. The collection of these bacterial isolates provides useful information for disease management. Identifying the aAs isolates involved in disease in ballan wrasse could provide vital information for improving / updating existing autogenous vaccines

Transcriptomic response to ISAV infection in the gills, head kidney and spleen of resistant and susceptible Atlantic salmon

Abstract Background Infectious Salmon Anaemia virus (ISAV) is an orthomyxovirus responsible for large losses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture. Current available treatments and vaccines are not fully effective, and therefore selective breeding to produce ISAV-resistant strains of Atlantic salmon is a high priority for the industry. Genomic selection and potentially genome editing can be applied to enhance the disease resistance of aquaculture stocks, and both approaches can benefit from increased knowledge on the genomic mechanisms of resistance to ISAV. To improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying resistance to ISAV in Atlantic salmon we performed a transcriptomic study in ISAV-infected salmon with contrasting levels of resistance to this virus. Results Three different tissues (gills, head kidney and spleen) were collected on 12 resistant and 12 susceptible fish at three timepoints (pre-challenge, 7 and 14 days post challenge) and RNA sequenced. The transcriptomes of infected and non-infected fish and of resistant and susceptible fish were compared at each timepoint. The results show that the responses to ISAV are organ-specific; an important response to the infection was observed in the head kidney, with up-regulation of immune processes such as interferon and NLR pathways, while in gills and spleen the response was more moderate. In addition to immune related genes, our results suggest that other processes such as ubiquitination and ribosomal processing are important during early infection with ISAV. Moreover, the comparison between resistant and susceptible fish has also highlighted some interesting genes related to ubiquitination, intracellular transport and the inflammasome. Conclusions Atlantic salmon infection by ISAV revealed an organ-specific response, implying differential function during the infection. An immune response was observed in the head kidney in these early timepoints, while gills and spleen showed modest responses in comparison. Comparison between resistance and susceptible samples have highlighted genes of interest for further studies, for instance those related to ubiquitination or the inflammasome