First occurrence of the black field earwig, Nala lividipes (Dermaptera: Labiduridae) in Greece

Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) were trapped between 1999 and 2004 at 122 locations in mainland Greece and on most of the larger Aegean and Ionian islands, using OVI light traps, in order to determine the distribution and seasonal activity of bluetongue virus vectors and other Culicoides species. Thirty-nine Culicoides species were identified, six of which (C. furcillatus, C. impunctatus, C. paolae, C. pictipennis, C. riethi, and C. scoticus) were identified for the first time in Greece. Two of these (C. impunctatus and C. scoticus) may be of veterinary importance due to their role as vectors of bluetongue virus and related orbiviruses. In addition, C. imicola was detected for the first time in mainland Greece.

During two periods (December 1985-October 1986 and October 1990-April 1991), the digestive tracts of 102 sheep and 29 goats were examined, with the purpose to find out and identify the helminthes parasites of these animals. The 96,1% of sheep and 93,1% of goats were found to be infected with 26 and 20 different helminths, respectively. The nematodes which were found out of the different parts of the digestive tract of these animals were: Sheep: oesophagus: Gongylonema pulchrum, abomasum: Haemonchus contortus, Teladorsagia circumcincta, T. trifurcata, Trichostrongylus axei and Cooperia oncophora, small intestine: Teladorsagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus colubriformis} T. vitrinus, T. capricola, Cooperia oncophora, C. curticei, Nematodirus filicollis, N. helvetianus, N. spathiger, N. battus, Bunostomum trigonocephalum and Strongyloides papillosus, large intestine: Oesophagostomum venulosum, Oe. columbianum, Chabertia ovina, Trichuris globulosa, T. ovis and Skrjabinema ovis. Goats: all the previous findings except T. vitrinus, Nematodirus helvetianus, N. battus and Trichuris ovis. The cestodes parasites, Moniezia expansa, Moniezia benedni, Avitellina centripunctata and Stilesia globipunctata were found into the small intestine of sheep and, Moniezia expansa and Avitellina centripunctata, in goats only. All animals were infected with more than one different parasites. The sheep nematodes Cooperia curticei, Nematodirus helvetianus, and N. spathiger, were identified for the first time in Greece, more over, Nematodirus battus were found out and identified for the first time in Greece.

Determinants of patients’ attitudes toward patient-centered care: A cross-sectional study in Greece

It has been proven that marital status affects health outcomes, with marriage often linked to greater longevity and wellbeing. However, while married individuals generally exhibit higher life expectancy, the ordering among other marital statuses (never married, divorced, widowed) can vary by gender and socio-cultural context. This study examines the evolving relationship between marital status and life expectancy in Greece over a 30-year period (1991–2021). Utilizing Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data specifically commissioned for this research, it constructs life tables by marital status, incorporating, for the first time in Greece, life tables for those in civil partnerships for 2021. While life expectancy improved across all marital statuses, married individuals consistently had the highest longevity, whereas those in civil partnerships are expected to live less than married individuals. Furthermore, widowers experienced a substantial increase in life expectancy, while by 2021, divorced males had the lowest life expectancy among men and divorced females showed the highest mortality rates at older ages among women. The relative position of never-married individuals improved over the period. Never-married women generally outlived never-married men, with this gap widening for the divorced. The most compelling finding is that the difference in mortality among family status categories appears to have diminished over time in Greece.

The distribution of the American mink in the wild, originating either from accidental escapes or intentional releases from fur farms, was mapped for the first time in Greece, based on opportunistic data collected from 2010 to 2020. Greece is a key actor in Europe’s fur industry, with most mink farms operating in the northwest. Massive intentional releases by activists took place in the late 2000s, while accidental escapes regularly occur. Most mink were recorded in the Region of Western Macedonia, in NW Greece, within and around the core areas of fur farms, where feral populations became established. Animals were also found further south in the Regions of Thessaly (central Greece) and Central Macedonia (northern Greece). Half of mink records were close to protected areas and almost two-thirds near to watercourses. Many animals were away from the water and on high altitudes, with theoretically less favourable conditions for their survival. We also examine possible directions of further mink range expansion in Greece and neighbouring countries through the river network. Mink invasion progress in Greece is little known, thus, the subject is in urgent need of study, as mink is the alien mammal with the highest impact on the European native fauna.

The exotic sap beetle Phenolia (Lasiodites) picta (Macleay, 1825) is recorded for the first time in Greece. In August 2018, a nitidulid beetle was found and photographed near Mt. Pelion of Central Greece. It was later identified as P. picta, a recent alien species in Europe, previously recorded from Spain, France, and Turkey. Photographic material and information on the species’ distribution, biology, and potential economic and ecological implications are discussed.

The exotic sap beetle Phenolia (Lasiodites) picta (Macleay, 1825) is recorded for the first time in Greece. In August 2018, a nitidulid beetle was found near Mt. Pelion of Central Greece. It was later identified as P. picta, a recent alien species in Europe, previously recorded from Spain, France, and Turkey. Photographic material and information on the species’ distribution, biology, and potential economic and ecological implications are presented and discussed.

A native population ofAegilops cylindrica was encountered for the first time in Greece in 1980 (near Kastoria, NW. Greece), completely isolated and at a great distance from its main distribution area. There are morphological and chromosomal, but no protein and esterase pattern differences from otherAe. cylindrica populations. This justifies the recognition of a new variety: var.kastorianum. Our comparative and karyotypic observations support the view thatAe. caudata var.polyathera and not var.caudata (typica) is the possible donor of genome C of the new variety.

The allele and genotype frequency distributions of the prion protein gene polymorphisms at codons 136, 154 and 171 were determined by real-time PCR for 1,456 sheep from 7 classical scrapie-affected flocks of Thessaloniki and Imathia, Central Macedonia, Greece. The blood samples were collected by official veterinarians and were examined by the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for TSEs, Veterinary Laboratory of Larisa, Greece, in the framework of the National Program for Scrapie Surveillance and Control between 2009 and 2013. Among the 1,456 sheep, 340 were of Chios breed, 633 Chios crossbred and 483 crossbred. The examined sheep showed high genotype variability, as a total of 7 haplotypes and 23 different genotypes were found. The predominant allele and the predominant genotype were ARQ and ARQ/ARQ respectively, in all breeds studied, followed by the ARR allele and the ARR/ARQ genotype. The TRQ allele was frequent in Chios and Chios crossbred, while the VRQ allele was rare for all the breeds. Interestingly, 3 genotypes (ARH/TRQ, ARR/ARK and ARK/VRQ) were detected for the first time in Greece and two of them (ARH/TRQ and ARK/VRQ) have, to our knowledge, never been previously reported. Furthermore, it is emphasized that our country outnumbers all European countries in classical scrapie cases of sheep every year. Therefore, there is an urgent need to reduce the incidence of classical scrapie through the implementation of selective breeding programs. This is supported by the fact that the prevalence of classical scrapie in the Greek sheep population is highly associated with the predominant genotype ARQ/ARQ. Therefore, the elimination of the ARQ/ARQ and the other susceptible genotypes (belonging to Risk Groups 3 and 5, according to the National Scrapie Plan of Great Britain) would reduce dramatically the incidence of classical scrapie in Greece.

In reece, iddle to ate leistocene mountain glaciations appear to have been quite extensive, along the mountain range of indus, on t lympus and in the highlands of eloponnesus and rete. This study focuses on the extent of the iddle to ate leistocene glaciations in reece based on the examination of cirque formations. An initial spatial database of these glacial forms was created for the first time in Greece, including cirque location and morphometric properties. In total, 265 cirques were recorded covering a total area of 94.9 km2 with limestone as the dominant underlying lithology. The number of cirques has decreased in southern reece. Cirques occur at altitudes ranging from 2770 to 1600 m a.s.l. The largest cirque areas are observed in northern reece. Since several highlands of reece have uplifted, the mean elevations of these cirques have increased in time. In northern reece the cirques are wider, longer and deeper. The vast majority of cirques are facing towards the northeastern hemisphere due to more severe climatic conditions originating from the northeast during glacial periods.

BackgroundRheumatoid Arthritis (RA) shares some similar clinical and pathological features with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) [1], an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic arthritis. The strategy of studying the putative role...

Full cost accounting as a tool for the financial assessment of Pay-As-You-Throw schemes: A case study for the Panorama municipality, Greece

Aphanizomenon ovalisporum is reported for the first time in Greece, in two warm, monomictic lakes. Aphanizomenon ovalisporum was dominant constituting 99 and 58% of the total cyanobacterial biomass in lakes Lysimachia and Trichonis, respectively. Trichomes were solitary (length 60-700 μm), were narrowed slightly at the ends, had a few terminal hyaline cells and had cells containing gas vesicles (length 2.5-6.9, width 2.4-5.1 μm). Heterocytes, spherical or ellipsoidal (length 4.4-10.5, width 2.41-5.1 μm) and akinetes (length 16.0-27.8, width 6.0-15.9 μm) were located in the middle of the trichome. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis detected microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and a putative anabaenopeptin in the L. Lysimachia sample. The sestonic MC-LR concentration was 0.9 μg L -1 . The origin of MC-LR in L. Lysimachia is discussed. The other cyanobacteria present were Pseudanabaena sp. and Planktothrix mougeotii (1% of the total cyanobacterial biomass).

Energy information systems, which manage energy consumptions over internet, have been evolving over the past decade and can be considered as a part of a specialised sequential decision process, regarding the provision of personalised energy services to the community. The aim of this study is to develop and present an innovative decision-support system and cloud computing software methodology that brings together energy consultants, consumers, energy services procedures and modern web interoperable technologies. The authors propose a web-based knowledge system, using distributed cloud architecture and metering grids over ADSL broadband connections. By using some clustering algorithms and a web middleware, energy profiles over time are analysed and observed. The resulting clusters and centroids are projected and statistically analysed over time, producing a centroid-locus. Hypercube topology was used for efficient data management and software agent-based parallel analysis. The system operates efficiently on a multi-tier cloud-based middleware that generates in real-time using various service software components to the end consumers. The case study on real Greek energy measurements, for the first time in Greece, indicated a compact and efficient distributed procedure that could analyse and produce adaptive personalised information services.

The rich Fauna of Echinoids (114 individuals) coming from the region Paleokastro Fthiotida has been found for the first time in Greece. The most part of the Echinoids studied, belongs to the genus Echinocorys{12%), and in minor quantity to the genus Micraster(8%), Galeaster(l%) and Coraster(19%). 17 species has been indentidied which have been distributed 13 to the genus Echinocorys ( E. conoideus, E. gravesi, E. humilis, E. lamberti, E. marginatus, E. obliquus, E. ovatus, E. pyramidatus, E. rectus, E. sulcatus, E. turritus, E. vulgaris, E. zejszneri), 1 to the genus Micraster (M. coranguinum), 1 to the genus Galeaster (G. cf. bertrandi) and 2 to the genus Coraster (C. sphaericus, C. frechi). The accompagnied fauna is consisting of one Scleractinian (Caryophyllia sp.) and one Nautiloid (Eutrephoceras dekayi (MORTON)). The stratigraphical distributions of the studied fauna allow us to accept that the cretaceous layers with the Echinoid Fauna belong to the Upper Maestrichtian age. The studied fauna, with his monotonous character, is an ecological niche of the genus Echinocorys living in almost littoral waters.