Island Of Cyprus Research Articles

Bioaerosols and atmospheric ice nuclei in a Mediterranean dryland: community changes related to rainfall

Abstract. Certain biological particles are highly efficient ice nuclei (IN), but the actual contribution of bioparticles to the pool of atmospheric IN and their relation to precipitation are not well characterized. We investigated the composition of bioaerosols, ice nucleation activity, and the effect of rainfall by metagenomic sequencing and freezing experiments of aerosol samples collected during the INUIT 2016 campaign in a rural dryland on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Taxonomic analysis showed community changes related to rainfall. For the rain-affected samples, we found higher read proportions of fungi, particularly of Agaricomycetes, which are a class of fungi that actively discharge their spores into the atmosphere in response to humidity changes. In contrast, the read proportions of bacteria were reduced, indicating an effective removal of bacteria by precipitation. Freezing experiments showed that the IN population in the investigated samples was influenced by both rainfall and dust events. For example, filtration and heat treatment of the samples collected during and immediately after rainfall yielded enhanced fractions of heat-sensitive IN in the size ranges larger than 5 µm and smaller than 0.1 µm, which were likely of biological origin (entire bioparticles and soluble macromolecular bio-IN). In contrast, samples collected in periods with dust events were dominated by heat-resistant IN active at lower temperatures, most likely mineral dust. The DNA analysis revealed low numbers of reads related to microorganisms that are known to be IN-active. This may reflect unknown sources of atmospheric bio-IN as well as the presence of cell-free IN macromolecules that do not contain DNA, in particular for sizes < 0.1 µm. The observed effects of rainfall on the composition of atmospheric bioaerosols and IN may influence the hydrological cycle (bioprecipitation cycle) as well as the health effects of air particulate matter (pathogens, allergens).

Representation of Turkey in the News on the Cyprus Problem: An Analysis on the British Press (2000)

This study aims to explore the representation of Turkey in the British news texts covering the Cyprus problem in the 2000s. The article goes on to question how the British broadsheet press represents Turkey, as one of the role-playing states in the fate of Cyprus. Using Said’s Orientalism and Young’s White Mythology as a theoretical basis for evaluation, a qualitative content analysis was utilized upon 45 news texts. Findings established that the othering of Turks was alive during this period. The British press portrayed Turkish people involved in the Cyprus problem as ‘dark-skinned Turks’, ‘from underdeveloped eastern Anatolia’ that ‘wear Islamic dress and have large families’ and are ‘settlers’ invaders or occupiers on the Cyprus island. Comparatively, the other role-players in the Cyprus problem (Greece, Greek Cypriots, and Turkish Cypriots) were less frequently Orientalized and not in the traditional sense, as presented by Said, their level of being orientalized relating to their relations with the British.

An Investigation to Quantify the Applicability of MARPOL Rules in the Northern Ports of Cyprus

The northern coasts of Cyprus island in the Eastern Mediterranean, are polluted by activities such as growing maritime transportation, recreational usage and tourism activities, conseutively deteriorating marine habitats and disturbing ecosystems. With the enforcement of MARPOL Convention in 1983, a reduction of marine pollution has been observed in all seas and ports of the countries that have accepted it. However, due to the increasing number of ships and growing maritime trade, number of negligences grew, so there was an increase in marine pollution again. Prevention of marine pollution is one of the most important goals of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which is the enforcing body of MARPOL. The aim of this paper is to investigate and quantify the preventions and precautions practiced in the northern coasts of the Cyprus island. Rules and regulations on marine pollution related subjects, which the ships are held responsible are studied and a questionnaire which covers all relevant and correspondent MARPOL rules is applied to all ships using the northern ports. Results revealed that despite most of the ship practices are satisfactory; many improvements can still be made.

1974 – The transformation of “Cyprus dispute”

One of the most crucial years in the dispute over the island of Cyprus is 1974. On July 15, the Cypriot army staged a military coup in the country, actively supported by Greece's ruling military junta. These actions еnable the Republic of Turkey, being one of the countries-guarantees to the Zurich-London Agreement, to undertake a military offensive to the island of Cyprus on the pretext that it should maintain the status quo. As a result only a few days later, the Turkish army occupies 36,2 % of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus and never left the island. Thousands of the citizens of Cyprus lost their relatives and loved ones, their livelihoods and homes, as Turkey acquired yet another advantage over the Cypriot Greeks and Greece on the so called „Cyprus dispute“.

Mitochondrial sequences of the extinct Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus confirm its phylogenetic placement

Abstract The Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus is an extinct Mediterranean species that inhabited the island of Cyprus during the Late Pleistocene. This iconic species last appears at the archaeological site of Akrotiri Aetokremnos, dated to ~12 500 cal. BP. Taxonomically, the Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus has been assigned to Hippopotamus minor, which, based on morphology, is more closely related to the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius; today present only in Sub-Saharan Africa) than to the West African pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). Despite adverse conditions for preservation that greatly reduce the likelihood of DNA preservation in subfossil samples from hot environments, we recovered and analysed ancient DNA from petrous bones excavated from Akrotiri Aetokremnos. By whole mitogenome hybridization capture and exhaustive high-throughput sequencing, we were able to investigate the molecular phylogeny and taxonomic status of the Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus. The results of our low-coverage ancient mitogenomic analyses support the close phylogenetic affinity of H. minor to H. amphibius, with their divergence estimated at ~1.36 or 1.58 Mya, depending on the molecular dating method. To our knowledge, this study constitutes the first step towards reconstruction of the molecular phylogeny of Mediterranean Hippopotaminae.

Hidden Mediterranean History/Histories

ABSTRACTThe following article approaches a historic monument on the island of Cyprus, the sixteenth-century Panagia tou Potamou church, with an interdisciplinary methodology. An in-depth study of its history, architecture, and paintings leads to a new evaluation of the church's value for Cypriot and Mediterranean research. The church has proven to be a space for burial and private memory of a sixteenth-century semirural community, reflected in the staging of a prominent burial and the iconographic topics underlining ideas of intercession and salvation. Ultimately, this enables an enhanced appreciation of “minor monuments” in general. The other angle of approach concerns heritage questions: in precarious state for most of the twentieth century, particularly the wall paintings are in urgent need of restoration. In 2015–2017, an emergency intervention secured the most fragile parts and evaluated the state of the church, proposing future ways to ensure the survival of this monument.

PV roofs as the first step towards 100% RES electricity production for Mediterranean islands: The case of Cyprus

The challenge of integration of large scale RES to islands seems infeasible when the islands have isolated energy systems without primary fuel sources, with limited sources of RES and without energy storage systems. Cyprus island is one of these cases, which covers 93% of the energy demand using imported fossil fuels. Building sector is the second biggest energy consumer accounting for 19% of the final energy consumption. A net-metering scheme is introduced recently to promote the installation of small PV systems in buildings. This paper therefore takes the approach of analyzing various scenarios for installation of PV roof systems in existing and future households of Cyprus island until 2050. The goal is to achieve 100% renewable energy production to cover the needs of the households sector. Results show that the electricity demand of the domestic sector can be 100% covered when over 70% of the existing residential stock install 3 kW roof PV system. Even if 50% of the existing residential stock install a 3 kW PV system the required capacity from other applications (eg. PV parks) to make domestic sector 100% renewable is 191 MW, which is feasible. To ensure a smooth transition to 100% renewable energy in all sectors, significant actions should be taken for the development of renewable energy systems, sector coupling, smart grid system planning and storage technologies. The present study examines only the potential of the further use of net-metering scheme in the domestic sector and discusses the barriers to full energy transition as well.

Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes.

Predictive models have become an integral part of archaeological research, particularly in the discovery of new archaeological sites. In this paper, we apply predictive modeling to map high potential Pleistocene archaeological locales on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The model delineates landscape characteristics that denote areas with high potential to unearth Pleistocene archaeology while at the same time highlighting localities that should be excluded. The predictive model was employed in surface surveys to systematically access high probability locales on Cyprus. A number of newly identified localities suggests that the true density of mobile hunter-gatherer sites on Cyprus is seriously underestimated in current narratives. By adding new data to this modest corpus of early insular sites, we are able to contribute to debates regarding island colonisation and the role of coastal environments in human dispersals to new territories.

AMERİKA KONSOLOSU CESNOLA KARDEŞLER VE OSMANLI KIBRISI’NDA TARİHİ ESERLERİN AKIBETİ

This paper aims to identify the antiquities of Ottoman Cyprus taken abroad with or without permits, focussing upon the activities of the Cesnola brothers and the efforts of the Ottoman state to obstruct them in these activities. This article employs both the wide range of research literature on this subject, including Cesnola’s extensive writings and documents from the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Directorate of State Archives, Ottoman Archives, thereby presenting the Ottoman position on the Cesnola brothers’ activities.
 General Palma di Cesnola, who served as American envoy between the years 1865-1876 and Russian envoy for part of his stay, became interested in the historical heritage of the island of Cyprus upon his arrival. The Ottoman governor of the island, who had suspicions about his removal of the artefacts from the island, tried to obstruct him. Overcoming these obstructions with his diplomatic position, Cesnola managed to avoid the Governor’s efforts. Initially, he visited numerous European capitals to market these antiquities of the historical heritage of the island. Later he contacted American Museums and reached an agreement with the Metropolitan Museum, where later, his position as a trustee and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Museum was facilitated with these antiquities from Cyprus. When he had to depart to take the antiquities out of the island, he invited his brother Alexander Cesnola to continue his work. Following the footsteps of his brother, Alexander Cesnola supervised the excavations and took artefacts abroad. In 1878 with the British taking over the governing of the island, he had problems obtaining excavation permits from the new administration. These developments led to the departure of Alexander Cesnola from the island.

COVID-19 and the emergence of quarantine tourism

During 2020, quarantine tourism, a new form of tourism, was born due to the political reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those repatriated to their country of residence (often they were students studying abroad) were compelled to be quarantined (typically two weeks) in a hotel facility then monitored in order to slow the spread of the virus to the country’s general population. In this article, the authors explore how this form of tourism came into being and how Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the two political entities on the island of Cyprus dealt with people coming into the country and the organization of quarantines for those repatriated. The findings, based upon interviews with managers in the hospitality industry and secondary sources, show that governments in some cases took an active role, while local and central government activity varied a great deal in the cases investigated. However, all cases show that there was a strong sense of corporate social responsibility that made managers and owners feel compelled to assist in combatting the COVID-19 when assisting repatriated persons.

Occurrence of Aedes cretinus in Cyprus based on information collected by citizen scientists

The current study presents a success story where through a small network of citizen scientists original information regarding the occurrence of Aedes cretinus was received, suggesting the absence of invasive Aedes species on the island of Cyprus. Citizen science records show that Ae. cretinus most likely has an island wide spatial distribution while its seasonal activity is limited to the spring and summer months. Data collected by citizen scientists under ‘The Three Mosquiteers’ citizen science initiative, provided more records than any efforts from the authorities in the last 73 years. The future success and the longevity of this initiative will be strongly dependent on the in-depth engagement and collaboration between local experts in entomology and citizen scientists.

Struck down in the marketplace: Bioarchaeological analysis of an individual recovered from the earthquake complex at Kourion

This article details the excavation and osteobiography of a single individual from the Earthquake Complex at the late Roman site of Kourion on the island of Cyprus. The Earthquake Complex consists of two structures, the Earthquake House and Market Building, that were damaged and then destroyed by a series of earthquakes in the fourth century CE. Originally found in 1987 during excavations of the Earthquake Complex, this individual was excavated en bloc and removed to the Episkopi museum. Continued excavations of the individual and osteological analysis were completed in 2015. Detailed here are the recovery and reconstruction of events surrounding the individual’s death. This individual died during one of the fourth century CE earthquakes that affected life throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Kourion suffered multiple earthquakes in this time frame; this snapshot archaeological deposit provides an opportunity to understand a single individual’s experience within this destructive episode.

Support for environmental, social and economic tourism industry development in Cyprus

PurposeThis paper aims to study and analyse thematic literature on sustainability and its challenges in destinations that highly depend on tourism. The aim of the paper is to focus on the opportunities and challenges for the sustainability of the tourist industry in Cyprus. The criteria for tourism sustainability are identified in UNESCO publications and are categorized as environmental, social and economic/financial. The paper examines the theory as well as the empirical applications regarding these criteria for the island of Cyprus, emphasizing the steps which have been taken by the government as well as other organizations towards maintaining industry sustainability. Opportunities that arise as a result of European Commission-funded programmes are also mentioned. Identification of the challenges is also very significant as they hinder sustainability practices. The paper tackles this issue and provides proposals as to the possible solutions to these challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a review of scientific and theoretical research studies by various authors on the concept and principles of sustainable tourism, the effects of tourism on society and the sustainable tourism strategy.FindingsThe basic principles of sustainable tourism development apply to all destinations, including Cyprus. The development of tourism is associated only with the observance of the principles of sustainable tourism development, which takes the form of balanced environmental and economic development and involves the observance of public interests.Originality/valueThe paper presents a viewpoint on sustainable tourism and the principles and development thereof.

Habitat use and seasonal activity of bats on a large eastern Mediterranean island: Insights from acoustic surveys (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

In 2016–2018, we carried out bat acoustic surveys in the northern part of the island of Cyprus and used two types of methods: stationary recordings (24 stations, 47:45 hours) and mobile acoustic driving transects (22 transects, 1,131 km, 54:20 hours). All bat acoustic records were attributed to habitat types obtained from CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data. We compared results from both methods and analysed seasonal and habitat associations with bat species that utilize the semi-arid Mediterranean landscape. Six selected bat species were associated with a total of 20 habitat types. The most frequent species, Pipistrellus kuhlii, was associated with almost all habitat types, with the highest flight activity in agricultural, urbanized and forested / seminatural habitats. Eptesicus serotinus and Hypsugo savii indicated preference of agricultural areas and avoidance of artificial surfaces. A χ2 test of independence revealed stronger habitat associations for stationary surveys, while habitat associations were weak for mobile transects. Given the vulnerability of Mediterranean landscapes, our study could be considered as a basis for establishing a long-term monitoring scheme with the goal of documenting predicted changes in bat communities as habitat is altered and as global temperatures rise.

Can distribution modeling inform rare and endangered species monitoring in Mediterranean islands?

Phlomis cypria ssp. occidentalis is one of the Red Data Book species of the island of Cyprus with restricted distribution, whose conservation status must be periodically assessed under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive. We used the known species occurrence records (120 geo-referenced points) and six environmental variables (bioclimatic and biophysical) within the maximum entropy distribution modeling, to predict the potential suitable habitat for the species. We constructed three models, one using three biophysical variables, the second using three bioclimatic variables and a third model where we pulled all six variables together. We also calculated the species extent of occurrence (EOO) using a Minimum Convex Polygon and its area of occupancy (AOO) using Range Tool. We compared the results between the three Species distribution models (SDMs) with those obtained from EOO and AOO mapping. Out of the three SDMs the smallest predicted area was by Model III (all variables) while the largest by Model II (bioclimatic variables only) which also predicts the largest area of actual AOO (66%). Although Model III predicts only 28% compared to the actual AOO area, 84% of its prediction is spatially located within the AOO. The methods employed herein, when used in combination, have a twofold importance for Mediterranean islands which have a high percentage of rare and endemics species since a) they may significantly improve our knowledge on distributional patterns and b) they can guide future monitoring activities. In addition, and since they require moderate computer literacy, they can be readily employed by conservation agencies.

Rising sustainability standards: the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the rising sustainability standards on the island of Cyprus and more specifically the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative and how this organization helped to make the case for sustainable development.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative approach using interviews to collect data from primary research.FindingsAlthough Cyprus is a well-developed tourism destination, its sustainability standards have lagged behind. Tour operators initially encouraged the hospitality industry to commit to sustainability standards and the majority of the industry has done so. Yet there is still a gap between theory and practice and the industry needs to step up its efforts.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was time limited and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic posed difficulties in terms of accessing interviewees and conducing the interviews.Practical implicationsThe study reveals the current state of sustainability standards in Cyprus and the effort needed to address the future challenges.Social implicationsSustainability is not a catch word but a way to offset the negative implications of human activity. Tourism and hospitality is an important economic activity and needs to play its role in protecting and improving environmental and social standards.Originality/valueThis is the first study to focus on sustainability standards in the hospitality industry in relation to the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative (CSTI).

CULTURAL HERITAGE MONUMENT DOCUMENTATION THROUGH ADAPTIVE PARAMETRIC DESIGN PROCESS

Abstract. The paper presents a novel adaptive parametric documentation, modelling and sharing methodology, which aims to achieve a continuous holistic documentation, data processing and sharing process for cultural heritage community, such as architects, engineers, archaeologists, conservators, programmers, fabricators, contest creators, game developers, scholars and common citizens. Thus, the use of advance parametric and building information modelling software allows the processing and specification of all data by creating the 3D models needed for the multidisciplinary experts. Two Cypriot case studies from the medieval time period have been chosen for the development, and evaluation of our proposed methodology in order to investigate the process of modelling and sharing all the given metadata and 3D data. The first one is the Asinou Church, a UNESCO Heritage stone monument in the Troodos Mountains with a unique interior and the Kolossi Castle, a former Crusader stronghold on the west of the city of Limassol on the island of Cyprus.

DOCUMENTING ANCIENT THRESHING FLOORS AS PART OF OUR TANGIBLE/INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE FROM ARCHIVE AERIAL PHOTOS: A CASE STUDY IN CYPRUS

Abstract. Threshing floors are common cultural features of the Mediterranean agricultural landscape and have been used from antiquity until some decades ago to thresh grains. Therefore, they constitute an integral part of our tangible and intangible cultural heritage as they are constructions that are linked with complex relationships between crops, technology, folklore, local materials and traditions from our ancestors. However, today, threshing floors are obsolete and destroyed almost everywhere due to modern development and very little attention has been given by archaeologists to these important cultural features. The identification and recording of ancient activity areas such as threshing floors is an important part of archaeological research contributing to the reconstruction of past ways of life and to the preservation of inherited traditions from the past. Access to historical archives of aerial photographs provide a high-quality photographic record, offering considerable potential in detecting ancient threshing floors that do not exist anymore because they have been buried in the course of time or destroyed. This study was conducted to deploy a methodology that deals with the identification of ancient threshing floors and their remains in the island of Cyprus through photo interpretation, by utilizing archival aerial imagery in combination with supplement ethnoarchaeological information.

Operating an eHealth System for Prehospital and Emergency Health Care Support in Light of Covid-19.

Introduction: The support of prehospital and emergency call handling and the impact of Covid-19 is discussed throughout this study. The initial purpose was to create an electronic system (eEmergency system) in order to support, improve, and help the procedure of handling emergency calls. This system was expanded to facilitate needed operation changes for Covid-19.Materials and Methods: An effort to reform the procedures followed for emergency call handling and Ambulance dispatch started on the Island of Cyprus in 2016; along that direction, a central call centre was created. The electronic system presented in this work was designed for this call centre and the new organization of the ambulance services. The main features are the support for ambulance fleet handling, the support for emergency call evaluation and triage procedure, and the improvement of communication between the call centre and the ambulance vehicles. This system started regular operation at the end of 2018. One year later, when Covid-19 period started, we expanded it with the addition of several new features in order to support the handling of patients infected with the new virus.Results: This system has handled 112,414 cases during the last 25 months out of which 4,254 were Covid-19 cases. These cases include the transfer of patients from their house to the reference hospital, or the transfer of critical patients from the reference hospital to another hospital with an intensive care unit or transfer of patients from one hospital to another one for other reasons, like the number of admissions.Conclusion: The main purpose of this study was to create an electronic system (eEmergency system) in order to support, improve, and help the procedure of handling emergency calls. The main components and the architecture of this system are outlined in this paper. This system is being successfully used for 25 months and has been a useful tool from the beginning of the pandemic period of Covid-19.

Allium willeanum Holmboe exerts anticancer activities on metastatic breast cancer cells MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231

Allium species are medically important plants, rich in bioactive molecules with antitumoral properties. In this study, we aimed to investigate the molecular composition and in vitro anticancer activities of Allium willeanum Holmboe, an endemic Allium species of the island of Cyprus. GC-MS analysis of ethanolic extracts of A. willeanum H. bulb (AWB) showed bioactive molecules, octadecanoic acid 2-hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethyl ester (21.99 %), hexadecanoic acid (20.42 %), pentadecanoic acid (9.19 %), 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, diethyl ester (8.79 %), with known anticancer activities. AWB exerted significant reduction in mitochondria dependent metabolic activity as a measure of cell growth on MCF-7 (weakly metastatic) and MDA-MB-231 (strongly metastatic) human breast cancer (BCa) cell lines with a more prominent effect on highly metastatic BCa cells. Both trypan blue and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cytotoxicity assays quantitatively revealed that exposure to AWB extract significantly reduced cancer cell viability in both tested cell types. Differential activation of caspases in the tested cell lines indicated faster apoptotic activity on MDA-MB-231 cells compared to MCF-7. A significant reduction in cell motility was demonstrated upon AWB exposure of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. AWB bioactive molecules collectively act on cancer cells to exert significant cytotoxic, apoptotic activities on both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells and significantly reduce their lateral motility, elucidating AWB as a promising agent to further be utilized in anticancer studies.