Desalination using renewable energy sources on the arid islands of South Aegean Sea

Water and energy supply are strongly interrelated and their efficient management is crucial for a sustainable future. Water and energy systems on several Greek islands face a number of pressing issues. Water supply is problematic as regards both to the water quality and quantity. There is significant lack of water on several islands and this is mainly dealt with tanker vessels which transport vast amounts of water from the mainland. At the same time island energy systems are congested and rely predominanty on fossil fuels, despite the abundant renewable energy potential. These issues may be addressed by combining desalination and renewable energy technologies. It is essential to analyse the feasibility of this possibility. This study focuses on developing a tool capable of designing and optimally sizing desalination and renewable energy units. Several parameters regarding an island's water demandand the desalination's energy requirements are taken into account as well as input data which concern technological performance, resource availability and economic data. The tool is applied on three islands in the South Aegean Sea, Patmos (large), Lipsoi (medium) ad Thirasia (small). Results of the modelling exercise show that the water selling price ranges from 1.45 euro/m^3 for the large island, while the corresponding value is about 2.6 euro/m^3 for the small island, figures significantly lower than the current water cost (7-9 euro/m^3)

Strong coupling of plasmonic bright and dark modes with two eigenmodes of a photonic crystal cavity

Dark modes represent a class of forbidden transitions or transitions with weak dipole moments between energy states. Due to their low transition probability, it is difficult to realize their interaction with light, let alone achieve the strong interaction of the modes with the photons in a cavity. However, by mutual coupling with a bright mode, the strong interaction of dark modes with photons is possible. This type of mediated interaction is widely investigated in the metamaterials community and is known under the term electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Here, we report strong coupling between a plasmonic dark mode of an EIT-like metamaterial with the photons of a 1D photonic crystal cavity in the terahertz frequency range. The coupling between the dark mode and the cavity photons is mediated by a plasmonic bright mode, which is proven by the observation of a frequency splitting which depends on the strength of the inductive interaction between the plasmon bright and dark modes of the EIT-like metamaterial. In addition, since the plasmonic dark mode strongly couples with the cavity dark mode, we observes four polariton modes. The frequency splitting by interaction of the four modes (plasmonic bright and dark mode and the two eigenmodes of the photonic cavity) can be reproduced in the framework of a model of four coupled harmonic oscillators

Change in Diuretic Dose after Initiation of a SGLT2 Inhibitor in Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction

Study Purpose: To identify change in loop diuretic dose when initiating a SGLT2i in patients with HFrEF who are on a stable dose of loop diuretic in the outpatient settinghttps://jdc.jefferson.edu/pharmacyposters/1025/thumbnail.jp

Plasmonic-Dielectric Systems for High-Order Dispersionless Slow or Stopped Subwavelength Light

A material platform of multilayered surface-plasmon-dielectric-polariton systems is introduced, along with a new physical mechanism enabling simultaneous cancellation of group-velocity and attenuation dispersion to extremely high orders for subwavelength light of any small positive, negative, or zero group velocity. These dispersion-free systems could have significant impact on the development of nanophotonics, e.g., in the design of efficient and very compact delay lines and active devices. The same dispersion-manipulation mechanism can be employed to tailor at will exotic slow-light dispersion relations.Army Research Office, ISNNational Science Foundation MRSEC Progra

Bio-psychosocial determinants of cardiovascular disease in a rural population on Crete, Greece: formulating a hypothesis and designing the SPILI-III study

Background: In 1988, the SPILI project was established in order to evaluate the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile of the inhabitants of Spili, in rural Crete, Greece. The first reports from this project revealed that against the unfavourable risk factors’ profile observed, only a few men with a previous myocardial infarction were encountered. A follow-up study (SPILI II) was performed twelve years after the initial examination, and the unfavourable cardiovascular risk profile was re-confirmed. Presentation of the Hypothesis: This paper presents a hypothesis formulated on the basis of previous research to investigate if dynamic psycho-social determinants, including social coherence of the local community, religiosity and spirituality, are protective against the development of coronary heart disease in a well-defined population. Testing the Hypothesis: A follow-up examination of this Cretan cohort is currently being performed to assess the link between psychosocial factors and CVD. Psychosocial factors including sense of control, religiosity and spirituality are assessed in together with conventional CVD risk factors. Smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as dietary habits and activity levels are recorded. Oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, as well as ultrasound measurement of carotid intima media thickness, a preclinical marker of atherosclerosis, will also be measured. Implications of the hypothesis tested: The issue of the cardio-protective effect of psycho-social factors would be revisited based on the results of this Cretan cohort; nevertheless, further research is needed across different subpopulations in order to establish a definite relationship. A comprehensive approach based on the aspects of biosocial life may result in more accurate CVD risk management

Controlling the Electromagnetic Field Confinement with Metamaterials

The definition of a precise illumination region is essential in many applications where the electromagnetic field should be confined in some specific volume. By using conventional structures, it is difficult to achieve an adequate confinement distance (or volume) with negligible levels of radiation leakage beyond it. Although metamaterial structures and metasurfaces are well-known to provide high controllability of their electromagnetic properties, this feature has not yet been applied to solve this problem. We present a method of electromagnetic field confinement based on the generation of evanescent waves by means of metamaterial structures. With this method, the confinement volume can be controlled, namely, it is possible to define a large area with an intense field without radiation leakage. A prototype working in the microwave region has been implemented, and very good agreement between the measurements and the theoretical prediction of field distribution has been obtained

Effect of religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence on depression within a rural population in Greece: the Spili III project

Background: Recent research has addressed the hypothesis that religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence buffer the negative effects of stress on numerous health issues. The aim of the current study was to further this work by exploring potential links between psycho-social factors such as religiosity/ spirituality and sense of coherence with depression. Methods: A total of 220 subjects of the SPILI III cohort (1988-2012) attending a primary care setting in the town of Spili on rural Crete represented the target group. All participants underwent a standardized procedure. Validated questionnaires were used to evaluate sense of coherence, depression levels and religious and spiritual beliefs. A multiple linear regression analysis of the Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI) in relation to demographic characteristics, scores on the Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs scale (RFI-SRB) and Sense of Coherence scale (SOC) was used. Results: A significant inverse association was found between BDI and RFI-SRB scale (B-coef=-0.6999, p<0.001), as well as among BDI and SOC scale (B-coef=-0.556, p<0.001). Conclusions: The findings of the current observational study indicate that highly religious participants are less likely to score high in the depression scale. Furthermore, participants with high SOC scored significantly low in the BDI scale. Further research is required in order to explore the potential effect of SOC and religiosity/spirituality in mental health

Effect of health information technology interventions on lipid management in clinical practice: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Large gaps in lipid treatment and medication adherence persist in high-risk outpatients in the United States. Health information technology (HIT) is being applied to close quality gaps in chronic illness care, but its utility for lipid management has not been widely studied. OBJECTIVE: To perform a qualitative review of the impact of HIT interventions on lipid management processes of care (screening or testing; drug initiation, titration or adherence; or referrals) or clinical outcomes (percent at low density lipoprotein cholesterol goal; absolute lipid levels; absolute risk scores; or cardiac hospitalizations) in outpatients with coronary heart disease or at increased risk. METHODS: PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched using Medical Subject Headings related to clinical informatics and cholesterol or lipid management. English language articles that described a randomized controlled design, tested at least one HIT tool in high risk outpatients, and reported at least 1 lipid management process measure or clinical outcome, were included. RESULTS: Thirty-four studies that enrolled 87,874 persons were identified. Study ratings, outcomes, and magnitude of effects varied widely. Twenty-three trials reported a significant positive effect from a HIT tool on lipid management, but only 14 showed evidence that HIT interventions improve clinical outcomes. There was mixed evidence that provider-level computerized decision support improves outcomes. There was more evidence in support of patient-level tools that provide connectivity to the healthcare system, as well as system-level interventions that involve database monitoring and outreach by centralized care teams. CONCLUSION: Randomized controlled trials show wide variability in the effects of HIT on lipid management outcomes. Evidence suggests that multilevel HIT approaches that target not only providers but include patients and systems approaches will be needed to improve lipid treatment, adherence and quality