A Simple Synchro – Modal Decision Support Tool for the Piraeus Container Terminal

AbstractThe concept of Synchro modality is effectively an evolution of a multimodal supply chain. It integrates different transport modes and gives shippers and logistics service providers the freedom to deploy different modes of transportation in the same chain and in a flexible way so as to gain the desired outcome according to their priorities in a certain trip. Time, costs and emissions are certainly the three most relevant parameters when talking about a multimodal transportation chain. In most cases the logistics provider has set priorities to conform with, and obviously above mentioned constrains influence each other in an adverse way. With the development of ICT technologies and systems installed on board and on shore and with a simple decision support system fed with input from tracking and tracing systems or traffic monitoring systems, one can easily and flexibly plan his transportation job and maintain his set priority while in parallel keeping the remaining two parameters in control. Down times for example could be eliminated and efficiency gains could be achieved with decreased environmental footprint.The Port of Piraeus is the largest Greek seaport and one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean Sea basin. It exhibits an impressive container traffic growth rate over the last 4 years triggered by its partial privatization and a recently completed hinterland connection to the rail network, which associated the port with the South-Eastern European corridor e.g. the route Far Eastern ports–Piraeus–Prague.The current paper will present an easy to use simple tool to continuously assess even during the transportation event all the alternative modes for a given destination in terms of time cost and emissions. An analytical fully parameterized model will be the basis for this tool which will be run for the chain Shanghai–Piraeus–Prague. The overall scenario is as follows: A container ship is arriving from China to the Piraeus Container Terminal. One of its containers is destined to an inland Enterprise in Prague. The most common way for transportation to Prague is rail, but also truck could be an alternative solution and of course a combination of a Short Sea Shipping part to Thessaloniki and then truck or train to Prague. Emphasis in the calculations will be given to emissions for all the modes and relations will be shown with time and cost.The tool developed is based on the case study above, being however open architecture software it can be expanded and applied to other ports and routes. The final outcome will be an easy and user friendly tool with the possibility to alter different input parameters and receive quickly a useful decision support system for the shipper or the logistics providers. Finally, there are two loops foreseen for the runs of the program. The required input parameters at each stage are either directly fed to the program if available (e.g vessels ETA and position through GPS, VTS, ETC) or calculated if this is not the case

Phylogenetic analysis of strains of Orf virus isolated from two outbreaks of the disease in sheep in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although orf is endemic around the world, there are few descriptions of <it>Orf virus </it>strains and comparisons of these strains. We report the sequence and phylogenetic analysis of the partial B2L gene of <it>Orf virus </it>from two outbreaks of the disease in Greece. The first was an outbreak of genital form of the disease in a flock imported from France, whilst the second was an outbreak of the disease in the udder skin of ewes and around the mouth of lambs in an indigenous flock.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Phylogenetic analysis was performed on a part (498 bp) of the B2L gene of 35 <it>Parapoxvirus </it>isolates, including the two <it>Orf virus </it>isolates recovered from each of the two outbreaks in the present study. This analysis revealed that the maximum nucleotide and amino-acid variation amongst <it>Orf virus </it>strains worldwide (n = 33) was 8.1% and 9.6%, respectively. The homology of the nucleotide and amino-acid sequences between the two Greek isolates was 99.0% and 98.8%, respectively. The two Greek isolates clustered only with <it>Orf virus </it>strains.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We suggest that there can be differences between strains based on their geographical origin. However, differences in the origin of strains or in the clinical presentation of the disease may not be associated with their pathogenicity. More work is required to determine if differing clinical presentations are linked to viral strain differences or if other factors, e.g., flock immunity, method of exposure or genetic susceptibility, are more important to determine the clinical presentation of the infection.</p

Immunomodulatory effects of microbiota-derived metabolites at the crossroad of neurodegenerative diseases and viral infection: network-based bioinformatics insights

Bidirectional cross-talk between commensal microbiota and the immune system is essential for the regulation of immune responses and the formation of immunological memory. Perturbations of microbiome-immune system interactions can lead to dysregulated immune responses against invading pathogens and/or to the loss of self-tolerance, leading to systemic inflammation and genesis of several immune-mediated pathologies, including neurodegeneration. In this paper, we first investigated the contribution of the immunomodulatory effects of microbiota (bacteria and fungi) in shaping immune responses and influencing the formation of immunological memory cells using a network-based bioinformatics approach. In addition, we investigated the possible role of microbiota-host-immune system interactions and of microbiota-virus interactions in a group of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs): Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Our analysis highlighted various aspects of the innate and adaptive immune response systems that can be modulated by microbiota, including the activation and maturation of microglia which are implicated in the development of NDs. It also led to the identification of specific microbiota components which might be able to influence immune system processes (ISPs) involved in the pathogenesis of NDs. In addition, it indicated that the impact of microbiota-derived metabolites in influencing disease-associated ISPs, is higher in MS disease, than in AD, PD and ALS suggesting a more important role of microbiota mediated-immune effects in MS

Clinical Phenotypes and Cellular Mediators in Diabetic Retinopathy

The aim of this work was to establish meaningful clinical end-points and surrogate markers for diabetic macular ischaemia, a condition for which there is no treatment. The relationship between diabetic eye disease and circulating cellular mediators of angiogenesis and inflammation was further explored with a view to developing therapy in the longer term. Visual loss in diabetic macular ischaemia was observed to occur only in moderate to severe disease, progresses at a rate of 5-10% increase in area per year and associated with thinning of the retinal nerve fibre layer. Direct visualisation of cells in the vitreous was achieved using optical coherence tomography. Novel methods for this were further developed in inflammatory eye disease, with a view for application in diabetic eye disease. A method for in vivo labelling of cells using ICG to enhance visualisation was described. In the field of regenerative medicine, this technique may allow direct visualisation of cell-mediated inflammation regardless of the type of cell or tissue transplanted. EPC and monocyte profiles were analysed in the context of diabetic eye disease. Elevated levels of EPCs as defined by CD34+ CD309+ were observed in diabetes, but no associations were observed with progression. There were no initial associations between monocyte subsets and diabetic eye disease severity at the outset but differences were observed in the context of progression. Observations from this work support the notion that inflammation plays an important role in diabetic eye disease and will inform development of new treatments in this field

Characterization of Wind-Sea- and Swell-Induced Wave Energy along the Norwegian Coast

The necessity to reduce CO2 emissions in combination with the rising energy demand worldwide makes the extensive use of renewable energy sources increasingly important. To that end, countries with long coastlines, such as Norway, can exploit ocean wave energy to produce large amounts of power. In order to facilitate these efforts as well as to provide quantitative data on the wave energy potential of a specific area, it is essential to analyze the weather and climatic conditions detecting any variabilities. The complex physical processes and the atmosphere-wave synergetic effects make the investigation of temporal variability of wave energy a challenging issue. This work aims to shed new light on potential wave energy mapping, presenting a spatio-temporal assessment of swell- and wind-sea-induced energy flux in the Nordic Seas with a focus on the Norwegian coastline using the NORA10 hindcast for the period 1958–2017 (59 years). The results indicate high spatial and seasonal variability of the wave energy flux along the coast. The maximum wave energy flux is observed during winter, while the minimum is observed during summer. The highest coastal wave energy flux is observed in the Norwegian Sea. The majority of areas with dominant swell conditions (i.e., in the Norwegian Sea) are characterized by the highest coastal wave energy flux. The maximum values of wave energy flux in the North Sea are denoted in its northern parts in the intersection with the Norwegian Sea. In contrast to the Norwegian Sea, areas located in the North Sea and the Barents Sea show that wind sea is contributing more than swell to the total wave energy flux.publishedVersio

West Nile Virus: Basic Principles, Replication Mechanism, Immune Response and Important Genetic Determinants of Virulence

Medical genetic

Updated Field Synopsis and Systematic Meta-Analyses of Genetic Association Studies in Cutaneous Melanoma: The MelGene Database

We updated a field synopsis of genetic associations of cutaneous melanoma (CM) by systematically retrieving and combining data from all studies in the field published as of August 31, 2013. Data were available from 197 studies, which included 83,343 CM cases and 187,809 controls and reported on 1,126 polymorphisms in 289 different genes. Random-effects meta-analyses of 81 eligible polymorphisms evaluated in >4 data sets confirmed 20 single-nucleotide polymorphisms across 10 loci (TYR, AFG3L1P, CDK10, MYH7B, SLC45A2, MTAP, ATM, CLPTM1L, FTO, and CASP8) that have previously been published with genome-wide significant evidence for association (P<5 × 10−8) with CM risk, with certain variants possibly functioning as proxies of already tagged genes. Four other loci (MITF, CCND1, MX2, and PLA2G6) were also significantly associated with 5 × 10−8<P<1 × 10−3. In supplementary meta-analyses derived from genome-wide association studies, one additional locus located 11 kb upstream of ARNT (chromosome 1q21) showed genome-wide statistical significance with CM. Our approach serves as a useful model in analyzing and integrating the reported germline alterations involved in CM

A diamino-functionalized silsesquioxane pillared graphene oxide for CO2 capture

In the race for viable solutions that could slow down carbon emissions and help in meeting the climate change targets a lot of effort is being made towards the development of suitable CO2 adsorbents with high surface area, tunable pore size and surface functionalities that could enhance selective adsorption. Here, we explored the use of silsesquioxane pillared graphene oxide for CO2 capture; we modified silsesquioxane loading and processing parameters in order to obtain pillared structures with nanopores of the tailored size and surface properties to maximize the CO2 sorption capacity. Powder X-ray diffraction, XPS and FTIR spectroscopies, thermal analysis (DTA/TGA), surface area measurements and CO2 adsorption measurements were employed to characterize the materials and evaluate their performance. Through this optimisation process, materials with good CO2 storage capacities of up to 1.7/1.5 mmol g(-1) at 273 K/298 K in atmospheric pressure, were achieved