The Impact of the Doctor-Patient Relationship on the Treatment Goal in Rheumatology.

Objectives: To assess the perceptions of patients with rheumatic diseases about the doctor-patient relationship and the impact on their treatment and their quality of life.

Methods: A quantitative study collecting data from patients with rheumatic diseases using the following tools: (a) the Doctor-Patient Relationship Assessment Questionnaire-16 (DoPRAQ-16), assessed the quality of doctor-patient relationship, (b) the Short Form 36 (SF-36) assessed the quality of life of patients, and (c) the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), assessed the functional ability of patients. From the statistical analysis, it appears that there is no linear correlation between the DoPRAQ-16 scales and the dimensions of the SF-36 Health Survey, except for the scale of negative emotions and the dimension of Physical Functioning.

Inhibition of key DNA double strand break repair protein kinases enhances radiosensitivity of head and neck cancer cells to X-ray and proton irradiation.

Ionising radiation (IR) is widely used in cancer treatment, including for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), where it induces significant DNA damage leading ultimately to tumour cell death. Among these lesions, DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are the most threatening lesion to cell survival. The two main repair mechanisms that detect and repair DSBs are non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR).

Predictors of Unmet Healthcare Needs during Economic and Health Crisis in Greece.

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to identify predictors of the unmet healthcare needs during the financial and recent health crisis in Greece. (2) Methods: Time series analysis was performed for the years 2008 through 2022 using the Eurostat database. The dependent variable was the percentage of people who reported unmet need for medical care.

Introduction of Alternative Proteins for Health Professionals' Diet: The Transtheoretical Model and Motivational Interviewing of Nutritional Interventions.

The World Health Organization has documented the impact that a balanced diet has on disease prevention. Overconsumption of meat can lead to obesity, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, type 2 diabetes and many life-threatening diseases. A new group of proteins has currently emerged in the scientific community of alternative nutrition called "alternative proteins".

Characterization and evaluation of Greek tomato landraces for productivity and fruit quality traits related to sustainable low-input farming systems.

Tomato is one of the most important horticultural species all over the world, having high level of consumption and employing many people, both in the primary sector (farmers) and in the secondary sector (traders, seed companies and processors). Nowadays, the use of commercial tomato F1 hybrids tends to prevail because of high yield potential and homogeneity of fruits which are often characterized by lack of quality and sensory characteristics. In contrast, tomato landraces have outstanding quality traits, such as high concentration of antioxidants and organoleptic compounds, as well as often include desirable genes in their genome for adaptability, plasticity, response to low-input conditions, and high fruit nutritional value.

Leadership Development: Exploring Relational Leadership Implications in Healthcare Organizations.

(1) Background: Relational Leadership Theory (RLT) has been gaining rising attention for the past 20 years with studies investigating multiple implications and practices of relationships within organizations. Yet, less attention has been given in healthcare settings. By virtue of the emerging need to move beyond exploring the quality of relationships and to move towards the exploitation of relational dynamics that influence leadership development in healthcare organizations, this study explores both the dyad relationships and the context in which those occur.

A clustering of heterozygous missense variants in the crucial chromatin modifier WDR5 defines a new neurodevelopmental disorder.

WDR5 is a broadly studied, highly conserved key protein involved in a wide array of biological functions. Among these functions, WDR5 is a part of several protein complexes that affect gene regulation via post-translational modification of histones. We collected data from 11 unrelated individuals with six different rare germline missense variants in ; one identical variant was found in five individuals and another variant in two individuals.

Internal Quality and Job Satisfaction in Health Care Services.

(1) Background: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the health services' internal quality level in Greek public hospitals and to investigate whether there is a relation between internal quality and health care professionals' job satisfaction. (2) Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in six public hospitals (four general and two specialized hospitals). The following tools were used to collect data: (a) the SERVQUAL questionnaire, which is designed to measure service quality through five dimensions, and (b) the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) questionnaire, which is designed to measure employees' job satisfaction.

Assessment of Health Professionals' Attitudes on Radiation Protection Measures.

(1) Background: Health professionals' knowledge, beliefs and perceptions concerning radiation protection may affect their behaviour during surgery and consequently influence the quality of health services. This study highlights the health professionals' average knowledge level and captures the beliefs, perceptions, and behaviours in a large public Greek hospital. (2) Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out, including health professionals working in operating rooms.

Beliefs and behaviours of radiographers and other health professionals concerning radiation protection safety in a high-volume Greek public hospital. Development of a new measuring instrument.

Introduction: The use of fluoroscopy-assisted surgical procedures has been increasing recently. The extensive use of fluoroscopy, combined with the lack of knowledge about radiation risks among operating room (OR) personnel (surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, and radiographers), may lead to misconceptions. The perceptions and beliefs of any health professional concerning radiation protection safety (RPS) may affect their behaviour during surgery, leading to negative outcomes.

Public Hospital Quality Assessment. Evidence from Greek Health Setting Using SERVQUAL Model.

(1) Background: Health care service quality has been equated with preparedness to provide, accessibility, suitability, adequacy, friendliness and ongoing support and has been connected to service excellence. The main aim of this study was to investigate patients' perceptions and expectations regarding the quality of health services. (2) Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was carried out in 5 public general hospitals and convenience sampling was used as the sampling technique.

Differences of mentally ill patients' satisfaction degree during their involuntary or voluntary stay in a psychiatric clinic.

Background: Mental health illness is not considered as a private matter, as it affects not only the mental patient's life and those who are considered his/her immediate family, but also the society as a whole. The involuntary examination and/or hospitalization in the field of mental health as the basic first-line therapeutic solution in Greece, calls for an immediate intervention, which is supposed to counterbalance the need for therapy and patient's rights of personal freedom and safety.

Design And Methods: A research using questionnaire was realized, consisting of 100 hospitalized patients in psychiatric clinics (50 voluntarily and 50 involuntarily hospitalized) at the Psychiatric Hospital of Attica.

Learning Organizational Culture in Greek Public Hospitals.

(1) Background: A learning organizational culture is crucial to the safety of patients and the quality of public health care. The aim of this study was to assess the learning organizational culture and capacity of Greek public hospitals. (2) Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was carried out in six public general hospitals and stratified sampling was used as the sampling technique.

Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products Challenges and Perspectives in Regenerative Medicine.

Recently, the design and development of a modern health policy in the field of regenerative medicine leads to the formation of a new and integrated cognitive field, which requires systematic research and study in order to produce innovative answers and best practices. Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) is a new product category, which is at the heart of concern since it has to deal with diseases in which traditional medicine has proven to be ineffective so far. The aim of this review is to provide evidence for the state of the art ATMPs and their modern applications in the field of regenerative medicine.

Validation of Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) in health care setting in Greece.

In health care systems the organizational learning is a continuous process to improve actions through better knowledge and detect or correct errors. This study examines the validity and reliability of the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire in addition to the applicability of the instrument in a Greek health care cultural context. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 6 general hospitals of Attica and the sampling scheme was the stratified sampling.

Assessment of Nursing Workload as a Mortality Predictor in Intensive Care Units (ICU) Using the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) Scale.

Introduction: Nursing activities score scales are valuable instruments for assessing the quality of nursing care provided in critically ill patients and easy to use in validating nurse staffing. The aim of this study was the assessment of nursing workload (NW) as a predictive factor of mortality by using the nursing activities score (NAS) scale.

Materials And Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 91 days during 2019, convenience sampling was employed to recruit 82 registered nurses (RN) from three intensive care units (ICUs) of two public hospitals with 41 beds in total.

Adsorption-desorption of phenolic compounds from olive mill wastewater using a novel low-cost biosorbent.

Several materials have been investigated for the adsorption of olive mill wastewater phenolic compounds. However, researchers have focused on the development of novel, low-cost, with high adsorption capacity adsorbents, originated from the food industry as by-products. The aim of this work was the investigation of the effectiveness of a juice industry by-product, pomegranate seed, for the adsorption of olive mill wastewater phenols.

Stability of pomegranate peel polyphenols encapsulated in orange juice industry by-product and their incorporation in cookies.

Orange juice by-products are proposed as a "green" wall material for the encapsulation of pomegranate peel extract. Stability of crude and encapsulated peel extract was studied under accelerated storage conditions, in terms of phenolic content, antiradical activity, and color. The obtained extracts were used as biofunctional components in cookies, at a phenolics concentration of 5000 ppm.

A natural approach in food preservation: Propolis extract as sorbate alternative in non-carbonated beverage.

Propolis extract was investigated as potential substitute for sorbate in orangeade. Extract was prepared by using aqueous solution of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrins. Propolis extract was incorporated in non-carbonated orange soft drinks and its antioxidant activity, microbiological stability and color changes were estimated and compared to those of orangeade containing potassium sorbate.

National registry of hemoglobinopathies in Greece: updated demographics, current trends in affected births, and causes of mortality.

National registries constitute an invaluable source of information and contribute to the improvement of hemoglobinopathy management. Herein, we present the second updated report of the National Registry for Haemoglobinopathies in Greece (NRHG) and critically discuss the time trends in demographics, affected births, and causes of mortality. Thirty-eight Greek hemoglobinopathy units reported data from diagnosis to the last follow-up or death by retrospectively completing an electronic form.

Murine Typhus with Marked Thrombocytopenia in a Child in Northern Greece and Literature Review.

We report a case of murine typhus in a 4-year-old boy living in northern Greece. Although the illness started with mild symptoms, a maculopapular rash appeared by the end of the first week of illness followed by marked thrombocytopenia. The detection of IgM antibodies against Rickettsia typhi in the patient's blood and a positive polymerase chain reaction result combined with sequencing confirmed the diagnosis of infection by Rickettsia typhi.

Development and characterization of a new encapsulating agent from orange juice by-products.

The replacement of maltodextrins as carriers for the spray drying of sticky and sugar based bioactives is an important development for the food industry. In this work, orange juice industry by-product was used to obtain a high dietary fiber powder to be used as carrier material. This powder was characterized with respect to its physical and chemical properties related to the process of encapsulation by spray drying.