Simultaneous Bilateral Primary Choroidal Melanoma Linked to Bilateral Ocular Melanocytosis: A Rare Case Study.

BACKGROUND Choroidal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults. Most primary choroidal melanomas are unilateral and unifocal. Bilateral primary choroidal melanomas are considered to be a rare occurrence.

Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody Disease (MOGAD)-Monophasic Optic Neuritis and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV): A Case Report of Rare Comorbid Diagnoses in an Adolescent From a Remote Greek Island.

A unique case of a female adolescent diagnosed with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) monophasic optic neuritis with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation antibody profile on a remote Greek island is presented, highlighting the challenges of diagnosing rare conditions in rural settings and the importance of connecting centers of expertise with regional hospitals. The 16-year-old patient presented with progressive vision loss, headache, and retrobulbar pain in the right eye. Initial ophthalmological examinations showed decreased visual acuity and color vision deterioration.

Efficacy of rTMS Combined with Cognitive and Language Training in People Living with Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that has been suggested as a possible treatment method for cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (pwAD), similar to multidomain cognitive training (CT). The effectiveness, however, of combining these techniques for pwAD remains controversial due to the variability in rTMS parameters, differences in CT protocol designs-many of which neglect the language domain-and the inclusion of patients at various stages of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and with different types of dementia. The current review aims to evaluate the cognitive benefits of combining rTMS with CT, including language training, for individuals with mild to moderate AD.

Language and Communication Interventions in People with Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review.

Although language impairment is frequently observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease (pwAD), targeted language rehabilitation is often overlooked. The present study reviews published evidence on the impact of language training, either alone or in combination with cognitive training, on cognitive outcomes in pwAD. A systematic search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane was carried out, including studies published from inception to November 2023.

Digital Transformation Efforts in Greece: Evaluation of the E-Prescription System.

In recent years, Greece has made efforts towards digital transformation. The most significant was the installation and use of eHealth systems and applications by health professionals. The purpose of this study is to investigate the views of physicians on the usefulness, ease of use and user satisfaction of the eHealth applications and especially the e-prescription system.

Computer-Based Cognitive Training vs. Paper-and-Pencil Training for Language and Cognitive Deficits in Greek Patients with Mild Alzheimer's Disease: A Preliminary Study.

The purpose of the present study was to explore whether Computer-Based Cognitive Training (C-BCT) versus Paper-Pencil Cognitive Training (P-PCT) is more beneficial in improving cognitive and language deficits in Greek patients living with Alzheimer's disease (pwAD). Twenty pwAD were assigned to two groups: (a) the C-BCT group, receiving a computer-based cognitive training program using the RehaCom software, and (b) the P-PCT group, which received cognitive training using paper and pencil. The cognitive training programs lasted 15 weeks and were administered twice a week for approximately one hour per session.

Past connections with the mainland structure patterns of insular species richness in a continental-shelf archipelago (Aegean Sea, Greece).

Recent research in island biogeography has highlighted the important role of late Quaternary sea-level fluctuations in shaping biogeographic patterns in insular systems but focused on oceanic systems. Through this study, we aim investigate how late Quaternary sea-level fluctuations shaped species richness patterns in continental-shelf island systems. Focusing on the Aegean archipelago, we first compiled maps of the area's geography using published data, under three sea-level stands: (a) current; (b) median sea-level over the last nine glacial-interglacial cycles (MSL); and (c) Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

Hands train the brain-what is the role of hand tremor and anxiety in undergraduate microsurgical skills?

Introduction: Physiological hand tremor occurs naturally, due to oscillations of the upper extremities. Tremor can be exacerbated by stress and anxiety, interfering with fine motor tasks and potentially impact on surgical performance, particularly in microsurgery. We investigated the link between tremor, anxiety and performance in a neurosurgical module as part of an international surgical course.

The Role of Anxiety in Simulation-Based Dexterity and Overall Performance: Does It Really Matter?

Background: Essential Skills in the Management of Surgical Cases (ESMSC) is an international undergraduate surgical masterclass which combines ex vivo, dry lab and high fidelity in vivo simulation-based learning (SBL). It consists of 32 stations of skills-based learning, including open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) of fractures. Current literature suggests early involvement in skills-based learning at the undergraduate level is vital.

Uveal Melanoma: and Mutations in a Greek Population.

Background/aim: Uveal melanoma is the most common primary adult intraocular malignancy. It is known to have a strong metastatic potential, fatal for the vast majority of patients. In recent years, meticulous cytogenetic and molecular profiling has led to precise prognostication, that unfortunately is not matched by advancements in adjuvant therapies.

Predictors of shell size in long-lived lake gastropods.

Aim: To investigate shell size variation among gastropod faunas of fossil and recent long-lived European lakes and discuss potential underlying processes.

Location: Twenty-three long-lived lakes of the Miocene to Recent of Europe.

Methods: Based on a dataset of 1412 species of both fossil and extant lacustrine gastropods, we assessed differences in shell size in terms of characteristics of the faunas (species richness, degree of endemism, differences in family composition) and the lakes (surface area, latitude and longitude of lake centroid, distance to closest neighbouring lake) using multiple and linear regression models.

Promoting Undergraduate Surgical Education: Current Evidence and Students' Views on ESMSC International Wet Lab Course.

Background: Undergraduate Surgical Education is becoming an essential element in the training of the future generation of safe and efficient surgeons. Essential Skills in the Management of Surgical Cases (ESMSC), is an international, joint applied surgical science and simulation-based learning wet lab course.

Methods: We performed a review of the existing literature on the topic of undergraduate surgical education.

Implementing the Contingent Valuation Method for supporting decision making in the waste management sector.

This study presents an application of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) for valuing the environmental impacts associated with the operation of landfills for residues following waste treatment and depicts how the results of the analysis can be used for decision making in the field of waste management. The survey was conducted in Ikaria, Greece, a medium-sized island in the northern Aegean Sea, with a view to estimate the amount of compensatory benefits that are socially acceptable to be attributed to the hosting community of a new landfill for residues. The results showed that the mean willingness to pay per household to create a fund for financing social and environmental programs in the community that will host the landfill in question was estimated at €6.

Tectonics, climate, and the rise and demise of continental aquatic species richness hotspots.

Continental aquatic species richness hotspots are unevenly distributed across the planet. In present-day Europe, only two centers of biodiversity exist (Lake Ohrid on the Balkans and the Caspian Sea). During the Neogene, a wide variety of hotspots developed in a series of long-lived lakes.

Population bottleneck triggering millennial-scale morphospace shifts in endemic thermal-spring melanopsids.

For more than hundred years the thermal spring-fed Lake Pețea near Oradea, Romania, was studied for its highly endemic subfossil and recent fauna and flora. One point of focus was the species lineage of the melanopsid gastropod , which exhibited a tremendous diversity of shapes during the earlier Holocene. As a consequence many new species, subspecies, and variety-names have been introduced over time, trying to categorize this overwhelming variability.

Synopsis of valid species-group taxa for freshwater Gastropoda recorded from the European Neogene.

Here we present a complete list of all valid species-group taxa of freshwater gastropods reported from Miocene and Pliocene deposits in Europe. The last comparable work dates back to the 1920s and covered about 1,600 names. The extensive literature research underlying the present work revealed considerable changes in the taxonomic and systematic frameworks of Neogene freshwater gastropods and yielded a total number of 2,156 accepted taxa.

Replacement names and nomenclatural comments for problematic species-group names in Europe's Neogene freshwater Gastropoda.

Over the last 250 years of taxonomic descriptions of freshwater gastropods a large number of primary and secondary homonyms were produced. Several of them have now been uncovered in the course of a new database project. To overcome the associated nomenclatural problems we propose 10 replacement names: Theodoxus pseudodacicus nom.

A multi-objective programming model for assessment the GHG emissions in MSW management.

In this study a multi-objective mathematical programming model is developed for taking into account GHG emissions for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management. Mathematical programming models are often used for structure, design and operational optimization of various systems (energy, supply chain, processes, etc.).

Cysteine-scanning analysis of helices TM8, TM9a, and TM9b and intervening loops in the YgfO xanthine permease: a carboxyl group is essential at ASP-276.

Bacterial and fungal members of the ubiquitous nucleobase-ascorbate transporter (NAT/NCS2) family use the NAT signature motif, a conserved 11-amino acid sequence between amphipathic helices TM9a and TM9b, to define function and selectivity of the purine binding site. To examine the role of flanking helices TM9a, TM9b, and TM8, we employed Cys-scanning analysis of the xanthine-specific homolog YgfO from Escherichia coli. Using a functional mutant devoid of Cys residues (C-less), each amino acid residue in sequences (259)FLVVGTIYLLSVLEAVGDITATAMVSRRPIQGEEYQSRLKGGVLADGLVSVIASAV(314) and (342)TIAVMLVILGLFP(354) including these TMs (underlined) was replaced individually with Cys, except the irreplaceable Glu-272 and Asp-304, which had been studied previously.

Intravitreal bevacizumab for macular edema due to proton beam radiotherapy: Favorable results shown after eighteen months follow-up.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal injections of bevacizumab (Avastin((R))) as a treatment option for radiation maculopathy secondary to proton beam radiotherapy for choroidal melanoma.

Case: A 61-year-old woman presented with a gradual decrease in left eye visual acuity (VA) 29 months after proton beam radiotherapy for choroidal melanoma. On presentation, her best-corrected VA (BCVA) was 2/10 in the left eye and the intraocular pressure was 15 mmHg.

Purine substrate recognition by the nucleobase-ascorbate transporter signature motif in the YgfO xanthine permease: ASN-325 binds and ALA-323 senses substrate.

The nucleobase-ascorbate transporter (NAT) signature motif is a conserved 11-amino acid sequence of the ubiquitous NAT/NCS2 family, essential for function and selectivity of both a bacterial (YgfO) and a fungal (UapA) purine-transporting homolog. We examined the role of NAT motif in more detail, using Cys-scanning and site-directed alkylation analysis of the YgfO xanthine permease of Escherichia coli. Analysis of single-Cys mutants in the sequence 315-339 for sensitivity to inactivation by 2-sulfonatoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSES(-)) and N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) showed a similar pattern: highly sensitive mutants clustering at the motif sequence (323-329) and a short alpha-helical face downstream (332, 333, 336).

Toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Crete.

In Greece there are no official recommendations concerning the management of pregnant women for the prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis. A protocol for monitoring pregnant women was designed in order to differentiate between acute and latent toxoplasmosis and was tested successfully for 7 years. The maternofetal transmission rate in Crete was assessed and a map showing seroprevalence of pregnant women in all prefectures of Greece was prepared.

Cysteine-scanning analysis of putative helix XII in the YgfO xanthine permease: ILE-432 and ASN-430 are important.

Transmembrane helix XII of UapA, the major fungal homolog of the nucleobase-ascorbate transporter (NAT/NCS2) family, has been proposed to contain an aromatic residue acting as a purine-selectivity filter, distinct from the binding site. To analyze the role of helix XII more systematically, we employed Cys-scanning mutagenesis of the Escherichia coli xanthine-specific homolog YgfO. Using a functional mutant devoid of Cys residues (C-less), each amino acid residue in sequence 419ILPASIYVLVENPICAGGLTAILLNIILPGGY450 (the putative helix XII is underlined) was replaced individually with Cys.