Moral issues of prenatal control

The modern diagnostic methods that are used in the reproductive process are in position to provide a lot of useful information on the physiology of the embryo. This paper aims to discuss moral and social issues of prenatal control and the necessity to establish a specific legislative framework which regulates these issues, taking into account both the constitutionally guaranteed rights and social and ethical concepts in the context of Greek society

Living wills in Greece: Bioethical dilemmas and legal parameters

Living wills are legal documents that set out the medical care an individual, or the principal, wants or does not want in the event that he or she becomes incapable of communicating his or her wishes. A living will is used by people whose wishes will be met should they reach a point when they are no longer able to make the decisions for themselves. For example, if a person sustained life-threatening injuries, or was incapacitated as a result of some terminal illness, the decisions about his or her health care will be his/hers as long as there is a living will. Without one, the decision becomes the responsibility of spouses, family members or other third parties.This paper aims to discuss important issues in the end of life healthcare and how the Greek legal system deals with bioethical dilemma

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A: a reliable marker for ifferentiating between the consumption of illegal cannabis products and legal, medical Δ9-THC

Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (Δ9-THCA-A) is the biosynthetic precursor of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in plant material of cannabis sativa, without having psychoactive effects . Δ9-THCA-A is not contained in pharmaceutical Δ9-THC formulations. Thus, Δ9-THCA-A can serve as a marker for differentiating between the consumption of illegal cannabis products and legal fully synthetic Δ9-THC

Heavy metals toxicity

Even though heavy metals are the oldest known toxins harmful to humans, heavy metal toxicity is still a topic that requires further investigation. This paper aims το provid an overview on the most dangerous heavy metals and their negative effects on the human health.Arsenic (As) contaminated underground water and arsenic based agricultural products have generated a worldwide increase of illnesses and deaths that are mainly due to various types of cancer and skin disorders. Industrialization and manufactur­ing made ead (Pb) poisoning a common occurrence, forcing governments to take measures to decrease lead usage. Mercury (Hg), being highly bioaccumulative and with an increasing presence in the environment, when consumed through food is proven to be especially harmful to lactating mothers, fetuses and children. The vast use of admium (Cd) for technological and agricultural purposes poses a high risk of occupational and non-occupational exposure of humans to that element, since it has been confirmed to cause carcinogenesis. Public awareness of the topic is necessary in order to prevent future increase of heavy metal related human diseases and deaths

Cannabis use and cardiovascular complications: are we aware enough?

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug. Over the last years more scientific studies focus on the cardio­vascular complications of cannabis. This brief review cites the effects of cannabis in human myocardial tissue with emphasis on the risk of development of cardiovascular disease after the use of the drug

The development and demonstration of an enhanced risk model for the evacuation process of large passenger vessels

Evacuating a large and complex environment, such as a large passenger vessel, either cruise or RoPax, is a safety-critical task that involves thousands of people in motion and a complex decision-making process. Despite the significant enhancement of maritime safety over the years, various hazards still pose threats to passengers and crew. To deal with this reality, the SafePASS project radically redefines the evacuation process by introducing novel technological solutions. In this context, this paper presents, in detail, an enhanced risk model for the ship evacuation process in order to facilitate the understanding of the actual risks of the process in fire and flooding accidents, and to assess various risk control measures and options toward risk mitigation. The risk model covers the entire event sequence in emergency cases on board, until the survival at sea phase, and it is constructed in two levels, following a combination of event tree analysis and Bayesian networks. Results show the risk corresponds to baseline scenarios for each accident case, which are also verified by relevant IMO and EMSA studies, and an example case of risk control option (RCO) is introduced to the model to demonstrate its ability to assess RCO’s efficiency in terms of risk reduction

The development and demonstration of an enhanced risk model for the evacuation process of large passenger vessels

Evacuating a large and complex environment, such as a large passenger vessel, either cruise or RoPax, is a safety-critical task that involves thousands of people in motion and a complex decision-making process. Despite the significant enhancement of maritime safety over the years, various hazards still pose threats to passengers and crew. To deal with this reality, the SafePASS project radically redefines the evacuation process by introducing novel technological solutions. In this context, this paper presents, in detail, an enhanced risk model for the ship evacuation process in order to facilitate the understanding of the actual risks of the process in fire and flooding accidents, and to assess various risk control measures and options toward risk mitigation. The risk model covers the entire event sequence in emergency cases on board, until the survival at sea phase, and it is constructed in two levels, following a combination of event tree analysis and Bayesian networks. Results show the risk corresponds to baseline scenarios for each accident case, which are also verified by relevant IMO and EMSA studies, and an example case of risk control option (RCO) is introduced to the model to demonstrate its ability to assess RCO’s efficiency in terms of risk reduction

Percutaneous tracheostomy-beware of the thyroidea-ima artery

Percutaneous tracheostomy is a minimally invasive operation performed in patients, in order to provide an air passage through the windpipe. A rare cause of severe bleeding during such operation is the injury of the thyroidea-ima artery. This case report presents a patient with hemorrhage after thyroidea-ima injury during percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy. Surgeons should always be aware of such anatomic variation, in order to prevent urgent sternotomy