Dietary and Physical Activity Habits of Children and Adolescents before and after the Implementation of a Personalized, Intervention Program for the Management of Obesity.

Background: Obesity in childhood and adolescence represents a major public health problem, mostly attributed to dietary and physical activity factors. We aimed to determine the dietary and physical activity habits of participants before and after the implementation of a personalized, multidisciplinary, lifestyle intervention program for the management of obesity in the context of the Horizon Research Project 'BigO: Big Data against Childhood Obesity'.

Methods: Three hundred and eighty-six (n = 386) children and adolescents (mean age ± SD: 12.

The Modified Superomedial Pedicle Breast Reduction Technique for Cases with SN-N Distance Exceeding 33 cm.

Background: Symptomatic breast hypertrophy affects the quality of life of a large number of women globally. Many reduction mammoplasty techniques have been described for patients with breast hypertrophy. The aim of this study was to provide our clinic's experience in utilizing the modified superomedial pedicle breast reduction technique in specific patients suffering from breast hypertrophy, with sternal notch-to-nipple distance of more than 33 cm.

Habits and Preferences in Sunscreen Usage Among Healthcare Professionals in the UK.

Raising awareness about sun protection is an ongoing challenge. In 2018, a Survey Monkey questionnaire was distributed among healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom looking at their own habits of sunscreen usage. A total of 165 responses were collected.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Nerve Tissue Engineering: Bridging Nerve Gap Injuries in Large Animals.

Cell-therapy-based nerve repair strategies hold great promise. In the field, there is an extensive amount of evidence for better regenerative outcomes when using tissue-engineered nerve grafts for bridging severe gap injuries. Although a massive number of studies have been performed using rodents, only a limited number involving nerve injury models of large animals were reported.

The influence of weather types over northern Greece on respiratory and cardio-vascular mortality.

Extreme ambient temperatures are well-known for their adverse impact on public health, in the form of increased mortality and morbidity due to respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases. However, to capture the total impact of weather on cause-specific mortality/morbidity, the synoptic atmospheric conditions over the region under study need to be taken into account. The objective of this work is to identify weather types over Thessaloniki, Greece, statistically associated with mortality from circulatory and respiratory diseases, in an attempt to holistically determine the impact of weather on cause-specific mortality in the region.

The Role of Hippo Signaling Pathway and ILK in the Pathophysiology of Human Hypertrophic Scars and Keloids: An Immunohistochemical Investigation.

Background: Keloids and hypertrophic scars are characterized by abnormal fibroblast activation and proliferation. While their molecular pathogenesis remains unclear, myofibroblasts have been associated with their development. Hippo pathway effectors YAP/TAZ promote cell proliferation and matrix stiffening.

Nonsurgical Correction of Stahl's Ear in Neonates: A Case Study.

Stahl's ear deformity is a congenital auricular anomaly characterized by a third crus in the auricular cartilage, giving rise to an irregular helical rim and a bent scaphoid fossa. This deformity is mainly treated surgically during childhood. However, studies regarding ear-molding techniques show that postpartum splinting offers a safer and more effective permanent correction, and that happens because of the high circulating levels of estrogen that neonates receive from their mothers right after birth, making the cartilage more malleable.

Video Head Impulse Test (vHIT): Value of Gain and Refixation Saccades in Unilateral Vestibular Neuritis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate gain and refixation saccades (covert and overt) using a video head impulse test (vHIT) in the horizontal and vertical planes in patients after the onset of unilateral acute vestibular neuritis (AVN). Thirty-five patients were examined in the acute stage of AVN and at follow-up (range, 6-30 months); a control group of 32 healthy subjects also participated. At onset, the mean gain was significantly lower on the affected side in all of the semi-circular canal planes, mainly in the horizontal canal plane, and saccades (covert and overt) were more prevalent in the horizontal compared to the vertical canal planes.

Defining the Ideal Breast Reconstruction Procedure After Mastectomy From the Patient Perspective: A Retrospective Analysis.

Background: An increasing number of breast cancer patients undergo immediate or secondary breast reconstruction, but the ideal method in terms of patient satisfaction remains ambiguous. We compared the 3 most common breast reconstruction techniques to determine patient satisfaction and objective outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective study of 184 patients with breast cancer who underwent a reconstructive procedure between 1993 and 2011 at our institution.

Anatomy of the atmospheric emissions from the transport sector in Greece: trends and challenges.

Emissions of atmospheric pollutants are well-known for their adverse effects on air quality and public health. Additionally, GHG emissions are responsible for the so called "Radiating Forcing" leading to climate change and degradation of ecosystem services. In this work, we analyze the annual emission trends of various air pollutants, including GHGs, from all 4 sectors of transport (roads, aviation, navigation, and railway) in Greece during the 28-year period between 1990 and 2017, in order to examine the confounding dynamics among external forces, such as the major fiscal recession of 2008, and the GHG/pollutant emissions in the country.

The influence of daily weather types on the development and intensity of the urban heat island in two Mediterranean coastal metropolises.

In this study we investigated the association between daily weather types (WTs) and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in two Mediterranean coastal metropolises. For this purpose, we employed an existing weather type classification scheme and examined which WTs influence or drive the intensity of the UHI. We used the gridded weather typing classification (GWTC), in which meteorological conditions at a single location are categorized in daily WTs.

A moving liver phantom in an anthropomorphic thorax for SPECT MP imaging.

Cranio-caudal respiratory motion and liver activity cause a variety of complex myocardial perfusion (MP) artifacts, especially in the inferior myocardial wall, that may also mask cardiac defects. To assess and characterise such artifacts, an anthropomorphic thorax with moving thoracic phantoms can be utilised in SPECT MP imaging. In this study, a liver phantom was developed and anatomically added into an anthropomorphic phantom that also encloses an ECG beating cardiac phantom and breathing lungs' phantom.

Free-flap breast reconstruction: cost analysis in the Swiss healthcare system.

Aim Of The Study: Breast cancer is the most common type of malignancy among women. Mastectomy maintains an essential role in oncological therapy and led to the development of breast reconstruction procedures. The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) free flap became in the last decade a popular approach for breast reconstruction.

Correlation of local lightning activity with extra low frequency detector for Schumann Resonance measurements.

A dedicated extremely low frequency (ELF) detector has been constructed and used successfully for Schumann Resonance (SRs) measurements in N.W. Greece.

Spatiotemporal variation in urban overheating magnitude and its association with synoptic air-masses in a coastal city.

Urban overheating (UO) may interact with synoptic-scale weather conditions. The association between meteorological parameters and UO has already been a subject of considerable research, however, the impact of synoptic-scale weather conditions on UO magnitude, particularly in a coastal city that is also near the desert landmass (Sydney) has never been investigated before. The present research examines the influence of synoptic-scale weather conditions on UO magnitude in Sydney by utilizing the newly developed gridded weather typing classification (GWTC).

Diagnostic Value of F-FDG-PET/CT in Patients with FUO.

Conventional diagnostic imaging is often ineffective in revealing the underlying cause in a considerable proportion of patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO). The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG-PET/CT) in patients with FUO. We retrospectively reviewed F-FDG-PET/CT scans performed on 50 consecutive adult patients referred to our department for further investigation of classic FUO.

Assessment of genetic effects and pesticide exposure of farmers in NW Greece.

The present study aims at evaluating potential genotoxic and cytotoxic effects caused by the occupational exposure of farmers to pesticide mixtures in the Aitoloakarnania Prefecture (Greece). The aforementioned assessment was conducted through in vivo Cytokinesis Block Micronucleus assay (CBMN assay) in peripheral blood lymphocytes, in relation to chemical analysis of pesticide residues in blood samples. The exposure of the farmers' population studied to different combinations of pesticides induced significant differences in the frequencies of micronuclei (MN) compared to those of the control group.

Study of the variations in the Schumann resonances parameters measured in a southern Mediterranean environment.

Schumann resonances (SRs) provide a unique tool for exploring continuous and long-term monitoring of global environmental parameters, although their detection and study is a very complex task. This paper presents diurnal and seasonal variations of principal parameters, namely the resonance frequency, the Q-factor, and the power of SRs, in the North-South (NS) magnetic field component for the first five modes from Extra Low Frequency (ELF) measurements. These were acquired at the observation site located at Doliana, Kalpaki, in the Region of Epirus, North West Greece.

Ear-lobe anthropometric signs do not relate to longevity. Ear length relates to age.

Dear Editor, During the last 30 years we are collecting various photographs which showed the face of persons who died at various ages during their lifetime. We so collected more than 235 photographs. After strict selection of these photographs, so that we could see well the ear and the ear-lobe we chose 57 of them and studied the following parameters: the vertical length of the ear till the lobe, the vertical length of the earlobe, the total ear length, the width of the ear-lobe and the area of the lobe, in order to relate them to longevity.

[Keloid treatment : Where do we stand ?].

Keloids are debilitating skin lesions that develop often as a result of minor skin lesions. Unlike hypertrophic scars, their main clinical feature is the tendency to extend beyond the initial limits of the wound. They can be responsible for pain and itching and may appear several months after the trauma.

Keloid treatment: what about adjuvant radiotherapy?

Keloids are debilitating fibrous skin proliferations with a high recurrence rate after surgical treatment. Postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) is a well-tolerated adjuvant treatment to reduce the risk of recurrence, but the optimal regimen for this combined treatment remains unknown. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of combining surgical excision and immediate PORT.