Freshwater crayfish distribution update and maps for Greece: combining literature and citizen-science data

Crayfish are charismatic creatures of high interest to humans, among others playing key roles in freshwater ecosystems. Considering the significance of indigenous crayfish species (ICS) as well as the risks posed by non-indigenous crayfish species (NICS) that may dissemite a crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci, astacological research has advanced particularly in Europe. In this context, crayfish distribution patterns are of fundamental importance. Focused on all crayfish established in the Greek wild, we provide an updated distribution and maps, combining extensive review of existing literature as well as newly emerging sources, largely represented by increasingly important citizen-science data. Obtained results demonstrate that ICS, mainly the Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius torrentium, remain relatively well settled in the country. The last ICS, Astacus leptodactylus, was translocated in few places outside its native range, leading to the formation of new flourishing populations and at least in one case it sustains commercial exploitation. Concerning NICS, a single population of Pacifastacus leniusculus is also established in the artificial lake Agra (Region of Central Macedonia) and keeps spreading. Unfortunately, there are only few methods under a very narrow range of conditions making successful eradication of unwanted NICS populations feasible. This option is even more difficult as this population is commercially exploited and traded. Since further potentially problematic NICS are also pet-traded in the country, educating public and communicating highlighted issues are the most effective ways limiting their releases and consecutive establishment in the wild

An appeal to die : A literature study on nurses' experiences in meeting patients who express a desire to die

Bakgrund: En vädjan om att dö kan sjuksköterskan stöta på i olika vårdsammanhang. Stora krav ställs på sjuksköterskan att möta detta svåra samtal om denna viljan för döden. Dödshjälpsbegreppet innefattar aktiv eutanasi, passiv eutanasi och läkarassisterad dödshjälp. Den lagliga statusen för dödshjälp varierar i olika länder, i Sverige är det enbart lagligt med passiv eutanasi. Huvudsakliga uppgifter för palliativ vård handlar om att lindra lidande som sjukdomen medför. En behandlingsmetod för palliativ vård är palliativ sedering där medvetandet sänks hos patienten. Sjuksköterskan står inför ett etiskt dilemma då sjuksköterskan bör följa ICN:s etiska kod, men samtidigt värna patientens autonomi och integritet när patienten uttrycker en dödsönskan. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelser i mötet med patienter i livets slutskede som uttrycker en vilja att dö. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie genomfördes som baserades på kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar. Sökningen utgick ifrån tre databaser och HKR:s granskningsmall användes till artikelgranskningen. Därefter analyserades artiklarna med hjälp av Fribergs (2012) trestegs analysmodell. Resultat: Resultatet omfattade sjuksköterskors upplevelser i mötet med patienter i livets slutskede som uttrycker en vilja för döden. Två huvudteman identifierades: Sjuksköterskans upplevelse av mötet och Sjuksköterskans upplevelse av sin egna roll. Diskussion: Tre fynd från resultatet diskuteras utifrån Erikssons (2015) teori om lidande samt ur olika etiska aspekter och samhällsperspektiv. Fynden är; det tysta samtalet, sjuksköterskans etiska reflektion och lindra lidande. Slutsatsen var att sjuksköterskan bör förhålla sig lyhört och tillbakadragen till detta svåra samtal

Public Transportation Network Design and Frequency Setting: Pareto Optimality through Alternating-Objective Genetic Algorithms

The transportation network design and frequency setting problem concerns the optimization of transportation systems comprising fleets of vehicles serving a set amount of passengers on a predetermined network (e.g., public transport systems). It has been a persistent focus of the transportation planning community while, its NP-hard nature continues to present obstacles in designing efficient, all-encompassing solutions. In this paper, we present a new approach based on an alternating-objective genetic algorithm that aims to find Pareto optimality between user and operator costs. Extensive computational experiments are performed on Mandl’s benchmark test and prove that the results generated by our algorithm are 5–6% improved in comparison to previously published results for Pareto optimality objectives both in regard to user and operator costs. At the same time, the methods presented are computationally inexpensive and easily run on office equipment, thus minimizing the need for expensive server infrastructure and costs. Additionally, we identify a wide variance in the way that similar computational results are reported and, propose a novel way of reporting benchmark results that facilitates comparisons between methods and enables a taxonomy of heuristic approaches to be created. Thus, this paper aims to provide an efficient, easily applicable method for finding Pareto optimality in transportation networks while highlighting specific limitations of existing research both in regards to the methods used and the way they are communicated