Facing and managing natural disasters in the Sporades islands, Greece

The region of the Sporades islands located in central Greece is at the mercy of many natural phenomena, such as earthquakes due to the marine volcano Psathoura and the rift of Anatolia, forest fires, floods, landslides, storms, hail, snowfall and frost. The present work aims at studying the perceptions and attitudes of the residents regarding how they face and manage natural disasters. A positive public response during a hazard crisis depends not only upon the availability and good management of a civil defense plan but also on the knowledge and perception of the possible hazards by the local population. It is important for the stakeholders to know what the citizens expect so that the necessary structures can be developed in the phase of preparation and organization. The residents were asked their opinion about what they think should be done by the stakeholders after a catastrophic natural disaster, particularly about the immediate response of stakeholders and their involvement and responsibilities at different, subsequent intervals of time following the disaster. The residents were also asked about the most common disasters that happen in their region and about the preparation activities of the stakeholders.Research Center for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO); Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologi

Time-aware Sub-Trajectory Clustering in Hermes@PostgreSQL

In this paper, we present an efficient in-DBMS framework for progressive time-aware sub-trajectory cluster analysis. In particular, we address two variants of the problem: (a) spatiotemporal sub-trajectory clustering and (b) index-based time-aware clustering at querying environment. Our approach for (a) relies on a two-phase process: a voting-and-segmentation phase followed by a sampling-and-clustering phase. Regarding (b), we organize data into partitions that correspond to groups of sub-trajectories, which are incrementally maintained in a hierarchical structure. Both approaches have been implemented in Hermes@PostgreSQL, a real Moving Object Database engine built on top of PostgreSQL, enabling users to perform progressive cluster analysis via simple SQL. The framework is also extended with a Visual Analytics (VA) tool to facilitate real world analysis

Global histone modification fingerprinting in human cells using epigenetic reverse phase protein array

The balance between acetylation and deacetylation of histone proteins plays a critical role in the regulation of genomic functions. Aberrations in global levels of histone modifications are linked to carcinogenesis and are currently the focus of intense scrutiny and translational research investments to develop new therapies, which can modify complex disease pathophysiology through epigenetic control. However, despite significant progress in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic machinery in various genomic contexts and cell types, the links between epigenetic modifications and cellular phenotypes are far from being clear. For example, enzymes controlling histone modifications utilize key cellular metabolites associated with intra- and extracellular feedback loops, adding a further layer of complexity to this process. Meanwhile, it has become increasingly evident that new assay technologies which provide robust and precise measurement of global histone modifications are required, for at least two pressing reasons: firstly, many approved drugs are known to influence histone modifications and new cancer therapies are increasingly being developed towards targeting histone deacetylases (HDACs) and other epigenetic readers and writers. Therefore, robust assays for fingerprinting the global effects of such drugs on preclinical cell, organoid and in vivo models is required; and secondly, robust histone-fingerprinting assays applicable to patient samples may afford the development of next-generation diagnostic and prognostic tools. In our study, we have used a panel of monoclonal antibodies to determine the relative changes in the global abundance of post-translational modifications on histones purified from cancer cell lines treated with HDAC inhibitors using a novel technique, called epigenetic reverse phase protein array. We observed a robust increase in acetylation levels within 2–24 h after inhibition of HDACs in different cancer cell lines. Moreover, when these cells were treated with N-acetylated amino acids in addition to HDACs, we detected a further increase in histone acetylation, demonstrating that these molecules could be utilized as donors of the acetyl moiety for protein acetylation. Consequently, this study not only offers a novel assay for diagnostics and drug screening but also warrants further research of the novel class of inexpensive, non-toxic natural compounds that could potentiate the effects of HDAC inhibitors and is therefore of interest for cancer therapeutics

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Distributed Spatiotemporal Trajectory Query Processing in SQL

Nowadays, the collection of moving object data is significantly increasing due to the ubiquity of GPS-enabled devices. Managing and analyzing this kind of data is crucial in many application domains, including social mobility, pandemics, and transportation. In previous work, we have proposed the MobilityDB moving object database system. It is a production-ready system, that is built on top of PostgreSQL and PostGIS. It accepts SQL queries and offers most of the common spatiotemporal types and operations. In this paper, to address the scalability requirement of big data, we provide an architecture and an implementation of a distributed moving object database system based on MobilityDB. More specifically, we define: (1) an architecture for deploying a distributed MobilityDB database on a cluster using readily available tools, (2) two alternative trajectory data partitioning and index partitioning methods, and (3) a query optimizer that is capable of distributing spatiotemporal SQL queries over multiple MobilityDB instances. The overall outcome is that the cluster is managed in SQL at the run-time and that the user queries are transparently distributed and executed. This is validated with experiments using a real dataset, which also compares MobilityDB with other relevant systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Glycogen-rich clear cell breast carcinoma in a luminal-Her2 molecular subtype: Is it only a pathologic feature or is there a gap in therapy?

Introduction: Glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma (GRCC) of the breast is a rare variant of primary breast carcinoma that is characterized by carcinoma cells containing an optically clear cytoplasm and intracytoplasmic glycogen. An ongoing debate exists whether it harbors aggressive clinical features. Case Report: The authors report the case of a 41-year-old Greek female patient, who had noticed a lump in the upper inner quadrant of the left breast. The patient underwent a left radical mastectomy with sentinel lymph node excisional biopsy and the histopathological diagnosis revealed a pT3pN0cM0R0 luminal-HER2 GRCC invasive carcinoma of the breast. Although the patient received aggressive multimodal adjuvant chemoradiation, as well as hormone therapy, she recurred 31 months after the operation with cervical, supraclavicular, and mediastinal lymph node metastasis on the left side. Conclusions: The biological behavior of GRCC is difficult to predict. According to the presented data, a gap in therapy might exist regarding the treatment of GRCC. Larger studies should be performed in order to refute or confirm this hypothesis. © 2018 S.O.G. Canada Inc. All rights reserved

Orchitis reveals an extragonadal primary mediastinal thymic seminoma: A coincidence or not?

Background: Mediastinal thymic seminomas are rare male germ cell tumors with extragonadal origin that appear predominately with a cystic appearance. Case presentation: A 22-year-old male was referred to our department for further investigation of a mediastinal mass discovered incidentally during routine chest X-ray. The patient has denied any symptoms including dyspnea, chest pain, cough, fever, dysphagia, hemoptysis, weight loss, and weakness. His past medical history was remarkable for orchitis, for which he had undergone a bilateral testicular biopsy, without the latter however, indicating the presence of a germ cell tumor or a premalignant lesion. Contrast-enhanced chest computed tomography revealed a lobulated and well-marginated cystic lesion in the anterior mediastinum. Differential diagnosis included mostly a multilocular thymic cyst, a lymphoma, a seminoma, or a soft tissue tumor. Resection of the mass revealed a primary thymic seminoma. Conclusions: A surgical approach for the management of these tumors might be reasonable considering that an extensive sampling is mandatory to gain an appropriate biopsy preoperatively in order to securely confirm or refute the presence of a mediastinal extragonadal tumor. Orchitis might be a sign of a general disorder of the germ cells which might transform in time. © 2017 The Author(s)