Giht u djelima znamenitih grčkih i bizantskih liječnika

Gout is a medical condition with typical recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis. The severity of this illness has been recognised from antiquity, and several ancient physicians studied it intensively. This paper presents the pathogenesis of the disease, approaches to therapy and preventive measures based on a number of original medical scripts from Hippocrates to the end of the Byzantine era.Giht je stanje koje se obično opisuje rekurentnim napadima akutnog upalnog artritisa. Težina ove bolesti uočena je još u antici kada te ju je proučavalo više starih liječnika. U našemu radu predstavljamo patogenezu bolesti, terapijski pristup i preventivne mjere temeljene na brojnim liječničkim zapisima, od Hipokratova vremena do završetka bizantskoga razdoblja

A Comparative Evaluation of Hydromorphological Assessment Methods Applied in Rivers of Greece

The ecological assessment of all surface water bodies in Europe according to the Water Framework Directive involves the monitoring of biological, physicochemical and hydromorphological quality elements. For the hydromorphological assessment in particular, there are numerous methods that have been developed and adopted by EU member countries. With this study, we compared three different methods (River Habitat Survey, Morphological Quality Index and River Hydromorphology Assessment Technique) applied in 122 river reaches that are part of the National Monitoring Network of Greece. The main objectives were (a) to identify whether different assessment systems provide similar classifications of hydromorphological status and (b) to distinguish strengths and weaknesses associated with the implementation of each method. Our results show that the River Hydromorphology Assessment Technique (RHAT) and the Morphological Quality Index (MQI) resulted in the same classification for 58% of the studied reaches, while 34% of the remaining cases differed by only one quality class. Correlations between the two indices per river type (ICT) showed that the two indices were strongly correlated for water courses located at low altitudes. Concerning the HMS index of the River Habitat Survey (RHS), which is an index that reflects the overall hydromorphological pressure, it showed larger differences with the other two indices, mainly because it classified more sites as “Poor” and “Bad” quality classes. Based on our results, we recommend that the two indices, RHAT and MQI, can be implemented complementary to the RHS for providing a rather easy and quick assessment of the overall hydromorphological status, at least until a national hydromorphological database is compiled that will allow for the proper adaptation of the Habitat Quality Assessment (HQA) index

The Implementation of Goffee and Jones’s Types of Organizational Culture in a Greek State-Owned Organization that Introduced New Technologies

Organizational culture plays a significant role in corporations. The introduction of new technologies creates significant changes and requires the contribution of an efficient organizational culture to produce positive results. The use of the various typologies of organizational culture can assist managers to identify the type of culture that is present in the organization and can provide useful guidelines on how to adapt to or change the existing culture, in order to make it more effective, particularly when introducing new technologies. Goffee and Jones (1996, 2003), based on the concepts of sociability and solidarity, proposed four types of culture: (a) networked, (b) mercenary, (c) communal, and (d) fragmented. This paper examines the development of these concepts and types of culture in a state-owned organization in Greece, following the organization’s decision to introduce significant new technologies. This organization had a unique blend of characteristics. Quantitative research was conducted using a questionnaire compiled specifically for this case. Factor analysis was used for statistical analysis of the data. While the introduction of new technologies was successfully completed, the findings of this study highlight certain features of sociability and solidarity and the types of culture that contain them, which have contributed to the successful introduction and adoption of new technologies

A Comparative Evaluation of Hydromorphological Assessment Methods Applied in Rivers of Greece

The ecological assessment of all surface water bodies in Europe according to the Water Framework Directive involves the monitoring of biological, physicochemical and hydromorphological quality elements. For the hydromorphological assessment in particular, there are numerous methods that have been developed and adopted by EU member countries. With this study, we compared three different methods (River Habitat Survey, Morphological Quality Index and River Hydromorphology Assessment Technique) applied in 122 river reaches that are part of the National Monitoring Network of Greece. The main objectives were (a) to identify whether different assessment systems provide similar classifications of hydromorphological status and (b) to distinguish strengths and weaknesses associated with the implementation of each method. Our results show that the River Hydromorphology Assessment Technique (RHAT) and the Morphological Quality Index (MQI) resulted in the same classification for 58% of the studied reaches, while 34% of the remaining cases differed by only one quality class. Correlations between the two indices per river type (ICT) showed that the two indices were strongly correlated for water courses located at low altitudes. Concerning the HMS index of the River Habitat Survey (RHS), which is an index that reflects the overall hydromorphological pressure, it showed larger differences with the other two indices, mainly because it classified more sites as “Poor” and “Bad” quality classes. Based on our results, we recommend that the two indices, RHAT and MQI, can be implemented complementary to the RHS for providing a rather easy and quick assessment of the overall hydromorphological status, at least until a national hydromorphological database is compiled that will allow for the proper adaptation of the Habitat Quality Assessment (HQA) index

Pressures and Status of the Riparian Vegetation in Greek Rivers: Overview and Preliminary Assessment

Riparian zones play an important role in the ecological stability of rivers. In particular, the quality of the riparian vegetation is a significant component of the hydromorphological status. In Europe, the QBR index (Qualitat del Bosc de Ribera) and the River Habitat Survey (RHS) are commonly used for the qualitative assessment of the riparian vegetation. In this study, we estimated the QBR index and the Riparian Quality index, which is derived from the RHS method, for 123 river reaches of the National Monitoring Network of Greece. Our field work included the completion of RHS and QBR protocols, as well as the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The aim of this study is to assess the riparian vegetation status and to identify linkages with the dominant land uses within the catchment. Correlation analysis was used to identify the relationships between hydromorphological alterations and the degradation of the riparian vegetation, as well as their connection to land uses in the catchment area. Our results highlighted severe modifications of the riparian vegetation for the majority of the studied reaches. We also showed a differentiation of the QBR with respect to changes in the altitude and the land uses in the catchment area. Overall QBR reflects the variation in the riparian vegetation quality better than RQI. Our findings constitute an assessment of the status of the riparian zones in Greek rivers and set the basis for further research for the development of new and effective tools for a rapid quality assessment of the riparian zones

Disentangling the Main Components of Hydromorphological Modifications at Reach Scale in Rivers of Greece

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires from member states to monitor hydromorphological features of rivers in order to assess their ecological quality. Thus, numerous hydromorphological assessment methods have been developed with most of them focusing on the dynamics of hydrology, geomorphology and riparian zone extent. Within the scope of this study, we assessed the hydromorphological features of 106 river reaches distributed among thirteen WFD River Basin Districts (RBDs) to identify the main drivers of hydromorphological perturbation at a national scale. The studied reaches reflect a wide range of natural variability as they include various types of watercourses extending from lowlands to mid-altitude and mountainous systems. We employed the River Habitat Survey (RHS), and we recorded hydromorphological features and modifications in both banks and the channel bed along 500 m for each reach. Then, the Habitat Modification Score (HMS) and the individual sub-scores that indicate the extent of specific modifications (e.g., bridges, fords, weirs, bank reprofiling, bank reinforcement, etc.) were calculated in order to a) assess the severity of the total artificial modification and b) to highlight the most common and severe causes of overall alteration. The results showed that alterations such as reprofiling and reinforcement of banks contributed the most to the total HMS followed by the presence of fords and bridges. Particularly, the bank alterations indicate a serious deterioration of the longitudinal profile of the reaches, while the occurrence of many fords and bridges is the main cause for perturbations that affect locally the stream cross-sectional profile. Overall, these results compile a first nationwide assessment of the hydromorphological status of Greek rivers in line with the WFD and set the basis for further research that will focus on the diversity of stream habitat features as a measure for the overall ecological quality

Towards i5 Ecohydraulics: Field Determination of Manning’s Roughness Coefficient, Drag Force, and Macroinvertebrate Habitat Suitability for Various Stream Vegetation Types

Ecohydraulic models have commonly used the flow velocity, water depth, and substrate type (i3 models) as the three fundamental determinants of the distribution of freshwater biota, but a fourth determinant has largely been neglected: stream vegetation. In this study, we provide the hydraulic and habitat information required to develop vegetation-adapted ecohydraulic models (i4 models) in streams. We calculated drag forces and Manning’s roughness coefficients (nV) for nine types of submerged, emergent, and overhanging stream vegetation. In addition, we developed habitat suitability curves (HSCs) for benthic macroinvertebrates for these stream vegetation types. Hydraulic modules can now be upgraded to simulate stream vegetation by including the vegetation-adapted nV values within an additive approach in which nV is added to the n value of the inorganic substrate to which the vegetation is rooted. Habitat modules can also be upgraded to include macroinvertebrate HSCs for stream vegetation, again by adding the vegetation-adapted habitat suitability to that of the inorganic substrate to which the vegetation is rooted. In combination, i4 ecohydraulic models (including vegetation) can now be designed and applied, and we suggest that ecohydraulic research should further focus on including a fifth variable (water temperature) to ultimately advance to i5 ecohydraulic models that will optimally simulate the hydroecological reality

Towards i5 Ecohydraulics: Field Determination of Manning’s Roughness Coefficient, Drag Force, and Macroinvertebrate Habitat Suitability for Various Stream Vegetation Types

Ecohydraulic models have commonly used the flow velocity, water depth, and substrate type (i3 models) as the three fundamental determinants of the distribution of freshwater biota, but a fourth determinant has largely been neglected: stream vegetation. In this study, we provide the hydraulic and habitat information required to develop vegetation-adapted ecohydraulic models (i4 models) in streams. We calculated drag forces and Manning’s roughness coefficients (nV) for nine types of submerged, emergent, and overhanging stream vegetation. In addition, we developed habitat suitability curves (HSCs) for benthic macroinvertebrates for these stream vegetation types. Hydraulic modules can now be upgraded to simulate stream vegetation by including the vegetation-adapted nV values within an additive approach in which nV is added to the n value of the inorganic substrate to which the vegetation is rooted. Habitat modules can also be upgraded to include macroinvertebrate HSCs for stream vegetation, again by adding the vegetation-adapted habitat suitability to that of the inorganic substrate to which the vegetation is rooted. In combination, i4 ecohydraulic models (including vegetation) can now be designed and applied, and we suggest that ecohydraulic research should further focus on including a fifth variable (water temperature) to ultimately advance to i5 ecohydraulic models that will optimally simulate the hydroecological reality