The occurrence of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus in Greece and Cyprus and the risk against the native greek palm tree Phoenix theophrasti

Ο κόκκινος ρυγχωτός κάνθαρος των φοινικοειδο')ν, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), είναι ο σημαντικότερος εχθρός των φοινικσειδών παγκοσμίως. Την τελευταία δεκαετία εισέβαλε στις Μεσογειακές χώρες προκαλώντας σοβαρές ζημιές σε καλλιέργειες χουρμαδιάς καθώς και σε καλλωπιστικά φοινινοειδή. Το R. ferrugineus βρέθηκε για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα το Νοέμβριο 2005 στη Χερσόνησο (Νομός Ηρακλείου, Κρήτη) επί Phoenix canariensis και για πρώτη φορά στην Κύπρο στη Λεμεσό τον Αύγουστο 2006 επίσης επί Ρ. canariensis. Εν συνεχεία το R. ferrugineus βρέθηκε στην Ελλάδα, προσβάλλοντας κατά κανόνα P. canariensis, σε Ρόδο (Σεπτέμβριος 2006), Ωρωπό και Βλληνικό Αττικής (Δεκέμβριος 2006). Στην Κύπρο βρέθηκε επίσης τον Οκτώβριο 2006 σε Λάρνακα, Αμμόχωστο και Πάφο, Σε πειραματική δοκιμή στο εργαστήριο, στο Μπενάκειο Φυτοπαθολογικό Ινστιτούτο, διαπιστό)θηκε ότι το R. ferrugineus μπορεί να προσβάλλει και να καταστρέψει και το ιθαγενές είδος φοίνικα Phoenix theophrasti.The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleopiera: Curculionidae), is the most important pest of palm trees in the world. In the last decade R. ferrugineus has invaded the Mediterranean basin where it causes severe damage in date palm cultivations as well as in ornamental palm trees. R. ferrugineus has been found for first time in Greece in Hersonissos (Heraklion district, Crete) infesting Phoenix canariensis, on November 11th, 2005 and for first time in Cyprus in Limassol district on August 20th, 2006, infesting also P. canariensis. Afterwards, R. ferrugineus has been found in Rhodos island, Greece, on 15/9/2006 and in Oropos and Ellinikon (Attiki district, Greece) on 5/12/2006 and 27/12/2006 respectively, infesting mainly P. canariensis. In Cyprus it has also been found in October 2006 in Larnaca, Famagusta and Paphos districts. In laboratory experimentation the susceptibility of the native Greek palm tree Phoenix theophrasti in R. ferrugineus was proved

Add-on topiramate in the treatment of refractory partial-onset epilepsy: Clinical experience of outpatient epilepsy clinics from 11 general hospitals

SummaryAn open, prospective, observational study was performed to assess efficacy and adverse-event profile of topiramate as add-on therapy in epilepsy. Outpatient neurology clinics from 11 general hospitals in Greece participated in the study. In total, 211 patients with treatment resistant partial-onset seizures who met the inclusion criteria, were studied. After baseline evaluation, topiramate was given at a target dose of 200mg/day over a 1-month titration period. In the subsequent maintenance period, the topiramate dose could be varied according to the clinical results. Patients were followed for in total 6 months, with monthly visits and regular physical, neurological and laboratory examinations. Seizure frequencies decreased to 35–40% of baseline values following 3 months of treatment and remained relatively constant thereafter. The average monthly seizure frequency over the 6-month study period was 4.61, compared to 9.21 at baseline. The number of responders (patients with at least 50% reduction in seizure frequency) followed a similar pattern, i.e., increase during the first 3 months levelling off at a final 80–85% response rate. Of those completing the study, 30% had been seizure-free for at least 3 months and 12% for 5 months. Topiramate was well tolerated, no deviations in laboratory values were found. Adverse events appeared to occur less frequently, and antiepileptic effects were more pronounced in this prospective open-label study than in earlier reports from randomised controlled trials. The nature of the patient population and the application of individualised dose optimisation are proposed as contributing factors to explain the favourable results of this study

Price adjustment method and ex-dividend day returns in a different institutional setting

This article was published in the International Review of Financial Analysis [© Elsevier Inc.] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2015.05.005This study investigates the determinants of the ex-dividend day price behavior in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), a unique institutional setting, and examines how a major regulatory change in the price adjustment method affects the extent of the ex-day stock price drop. We find that allowing the market to freely adjust prices, after 2001, the ex-dividend day price improves the pricing efficiency of the market in the sense that the raw price ratio tends to one and abnormal returns tend to zero. We also find that in the absence of taxes on dividends and capital gains and certain microstructure impediments discussed in the literature - i.e., bid-ask spread, market makers, price discreteness, tick size and limit order adjustment mechanism - stock illiquidity is the best candidate for explaining the magnitude of the ex-dividend day price adjustment

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Convenience Yields in Electricity Prices: Evidence from the Natural Gas Market

This study develops a model in which changes in the electricity basis are directly related to changes in the fuel's storage level and the fuel's convenience yield. The model is tested with data from the US electricity and natural gas markets during the period 2004–2014. Empirical results show a negative relationship between the electricity basis and the fuel's convenience yield giving support to the argument that non-storable commodities embody convenience yields. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 37:522–538, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc