Assessing marine litter in a highly polluted area in the Mediterranean: A multi-perspective approach in the Saronikos Gulf, Greece.

Marine litter poses a significant environmental challenge in the Saronikos Gulf, Greece. Employing an integrated approach, data from both beach and underwater sites were analyzed. The average litter density on beaches was 2.

Using Distributed Temperature Sensing for Long-Term Monitoring of Pockmark Activity in the Gulf of Patras (Greece): Data Processing Hints and Preliminary Findings.

Patras Gulf pockmark field (Western Greece) is a tectonically controlled field that has been activated at least twice by strong earthquakes (M5.4, 14 July 1993 and M6.4, 8 June 2008), and episodic gas seepages have been recorded in the past using geophysical means.

High-Dose Intravenous Steroid Treatment Seems to Have No Long-Term Negative Effect on Bone Mineral Density of Young and Newly Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Pilot Study.

High-dose intravenous steroid treatment (HDIST) represents the first choice of treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses. Chronic oral glucocorticoid (GC) administration correlates with bone loss whereas data regarding HDIST in MS are still conflicting. Twenty-five newly diagnosed MS patients (NDMSP) (median age: 37 years) were prospectively studied for the effects of HDIST on bone mineral density (BMD) and bone metabolism.

COVID-19-related litter pollution on Greek beaches and nearshore shallow water environments.

COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in certain types of litter, many of which are expected to end up in the marine environment. The present study aimed to monitor the pandemic-related litter pollution along the Greek coastal environment. Overall, 59 beach and 83 underwater clean-ups were conducted.

Sestrin 2 levels are associated with emphysematous phenotype of COPD.

Sestrins (Sesns) are a family of highly conserved stress-inducible proteins and various stresses have been shown to strongly up-regulate them. Sestrin 2 (Sesn2) deficiency has been shown to partially suppress pulmonary emphysema. The aim of this study was to evaluate Sesn2 levels in COPD patients and its possible associations with the presence of emphysema and blood eosinophils.

Insights into seafloor litter spatiotemporal dynamics in urbanized shallow Mediterranean bays. An optimized monitoring protocol using towed underwater cameras.

Monitoring of marine litter at the sea surface, the beaches and the seafloor is essential to understanding their sources, pathways and sinks and design effective clean-up programs or increase public awareness for reducing litter waste. Up until today, seafloor litter is the least exploited component of marine litter. Although the protocols for recording and assessing seafloor litter in the deep-sea environments are currently being actively defined and practiced, shallow seafloor litter survey protocols are still notably under-developed.

Hybrid Biochar/Ceria Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Characterization and Activity Assessment for the Persulfate-Induced Degradation of Antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole.

Biochar from spent malt rootlets was employed as the template to synthesize hybrid biochar-ceria materials through a wet impregnation method. The materials were tested for the activation of persulfate (SPS) and subsequent degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a representative antibiotic, in various matrices. Different calcination temperatures in the range 300-500 °C were employed and the resulting materials were characterized by means of N adsorption and potentiometric mass titration as well as TGA, XRD, SEM, FTIR, DRS, and Raman spectroscopy.

Spatiotemporal assessment of the environmental quality of bottom waters through the study of benthic foraminifera in a semi-enclosed gulf.

The evolution of the bottom water in Amvrakikos Gulf in Ionian Sea at western Greece for a 50-year timespan was assessed by benthic foraminifera assemblages. The degradation of the bottom water of Amvrakikos has been a catalyst for the surface water degradation. The east basin has shown permanent low environmental quality in bottom waters since 1980, while the west basin has been under seasonal hypoxic regime since 2000.

Microplastics formation based on degradation characteristics of beached plastic bags.

Environmental pollution from plastic bags is a significant issue in the global environment. Plastic bags can be transferred by the wind and ocean currents everywhere in the three dimensions and be fragmented into small particles, termed film-shaped microplastics. The purpose of this study is to provide insights on the degradation of beached plastic bags.

Automatic detection of seafloor marine litter using towed camera images and deep learning.

Aerial and underwater imaging is being widely used for monitoring litter objects found at the sea surface, beaches and seafloor. However, litter monitoring requires a considerable amount of human effort, indicating the need for automatic and cost-effective approaches. Here we present an object detection approach that automatically detects seafloor marine litter in a real-world environment using a Region-based Convolution Neural Network.

Vessel-based photographic assessment of beach litter in remote coasts. A wide scale application in Saronikos Gulf, Greece.

The abundance of marine debris was quantified for a total of sixty-two inaccessible beaches in the western Saronikos Gulf, Greece. High resolution images were obtained through vessel-based photography survey, merged into seamless photomosaics, and manually processed to quantify beach litter abundance. A sample of four selected beaches were subjected to detailed photography followed by beach macro-litter (≥ 2.

Modeling of floating marine litter originated from the Eastern Ionian Sea: Transport, residence time and connectivity.

A Lagrangian particle tracking model coupled to a circulation was used to explore the transport, residence time and connectivity of floating litter that originated from the Εastern Ionian Sea during 2011-2014. At the end of simulations, on average 26% of litter was retained within the coastal waters of the Eastern Ionian Sea, whereas 58% was washed into offshore waters without formulating permanent accumulation areas, as the basin-wide surface circulation was characterized by considerable interannual variability. The inflow of litter into the Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean Seas was moderate, ranging between 9% and 20%, and the beached litter was on average 9.

Serum osteopontin in patients with lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: does the co-existence make the difference?

Background: Osteopontin (OPN) is involved in cancer development and metastasis. Increased sputum OPN was detected in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: We evaluated serum OPN levels in patients with lung cancer (LC) and/or COPD and aimed to determine OPN prognostic performance in 1-year mortality in LC and also its diagnostic performance in LC among COPD patients.

Assessment of the Eutrophication-Related Environmental Parameters in Two Mediterranean Lakes by Integrating Statistical Techniques and Self-Organizing Maps.

During the last decades, Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems, especially lakes, have been under severe pressure due to increasing eutrophication and water quality deterioration. In this article, we compared the effectiveness of different data analysis methods by assessing the contribution of environmental parameters to eutrophication processes. For this purpose, principal components analysis (PCA), cluster analysis, and a self-organizing map (SOM) were applied, using water quality data from two transboundary lakes of North Greece.

Exhaled breath temperature in optimally treated asthmatics: severity and underlying mechanisms.

Introduction: Increased vascularity may lead to loss of heat in the airways and may modulate exhaled breath temperature (EBT). Increased EBT has been associated with uncontrolled asthma.

Aim: We wanted to determine whether the measurement of EBT in optimally treated asthmatic patients is influenced by the increased vascular permeability and whether Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is implicated in the above process.

Beach litter dynamics on Mediterranean coasts: Distinguishing sources and pathways.

We assessed amounts, composition and net accumulation rates every ~15days of beach macro litter (≥2.5cm) on 4 Mediterranean beaches, on Corfu island, N. Ionian Sea, taking into account natural and anthropogenic drivers.

Serum periostin in patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbations.

Serum periostin has been proposed as a surrogate biomarker of Th2 inflammatory response in patients with asthma, but its predictive role in hospitalized patients with COPD has not been evaluated. The aim of the present observational prospective cohort study was to evaluate the possible role of serum periostin as predictor of outcome in COPD patients hospitalized for AECOPD. Serum periostin was measured on admission and at discharge in patients admitted to the hospital for a COPD exacerbation.

Clinical, functional and inflammatory characteristics in patients with paucigranulocytic stable asthma: Comparison with different sputum phenotypes.

Background: According to induced sputum cell count, four different asthma phenotypes have been recognized (eosinophilic, neutrophilic, mixed and paucigranulocytic). The aim of this study was to detect functional and inflammatory characteristics of patients with paucigranulocytic asthma.

Methods: A total of 240 asthmatic patients were categorized into the four phenotypes according to cell counts in induced sputum.

Activin A and follistatin in patients with asthma. Does severity make the difference?

Background And Objective: Activin A is a pleiotropic cytokine holding a fundamental role in inflammation and tissue remodelling. Follistatin can modulate the bioactivity of activin. We aimed to measure activin A and follistatin in sputum supernatants and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of asthmatic patients and to determine the possible associations with severity as well as with inflammatory and remodelling indices.

Predictors of future exacerbation risk in patients with asthma.

Objectives: Although modern treatment of asthma improves asthma control, some patients still experience exacerbations. The aim of the present study was to detect predictors of asthmatic exacerbations Methods: We included patients with asthma followed up in asthma clinics of 2 tertiary University hospitals. Demographic and functional characteristics, levels of exhaled NO, and inflammatory biomarkers (IL-13, ΕCP και IL-8) and cell counts in induced sputum were recorded at baseline.

Assessing the Contribution of the Environmental Parameters to Eutrophication with the Use of the "PaD" and "PaD2" Methods in a Hypereutrophic Lake.

Lake Pamvotis (Greece) is a shallow hypereutrophic lake with a natural tendency to eutrophication. Several restoration measures were applied, but with no long-term success. To examine the causes for this an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was created in order to simulate the chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) levels and to investigate the role of the associated environmental parameters.

The degradation potential of PET bottles in the marine environment: An ATR-FTIR based approach.

The dominance and persistence of plastic debris in the marine environment are well documented. No information exists in respect to their lifespan in the marine environment. Nevertheless, the degradation potential of plastic litter items remains a critical issue for marine litter research.

Use of ROV for assessing marine litter on the seafloor of Saronikos Gulf (Greece): a way to fill data gaps and deliver environmental education.

A visual census of marine litter on the seafloor of the Saronikos Gulf (Greece) is presented in the current work. The abundance and qualitative composition of benthic marine litter were investigated in two selected locations of the Saronikos Gulf with a Remote Operated Vehicle, where other sampling strategies couldn't be implemented. The assessment of marine litter was combined with environmental education within the PERSEUS (FP7) Research Project, in a novel 2-day research cruise where schoolchildren actively participated.

Q-Speciation and Network Structure Evolution in Invert Calcium Silicate Glasses.

Binary silicate glasses in the system CaO-SiO2 are synthesized over an extended composition range (42 mol % ≤ CaO ≤ 61 mol %), using container-less aerodynamic levitation techniques and CO2-laser heating. The compositional evolution of Q speciation in these glasses is quantified using (29)Si and (17)O magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results indicate progressive depolymerization of the silicate network upon addition of CaO and significant deviation of the Q speciation from the binary model.