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When archaic hominins started sea-crossings and whether or not seas were barriers to their dispersal, is highly debated. This paper attempts to provide insights into these issues, focusing on the Aegean Sea. The study shows that the Central Aegean Island Chain was insular from the surrounding landmasses over the last 450 ka and contests previously available Aegean Sea palaeo-geography. This, in association with the spatiotemporal patterning of Lower and Middle Paleolithic assemblages in the margin of the Mediterranean Sea, implies that pre-sapiens, as early as 450 ka BP: (a) were sea-crossing the Aegean Sea; (b) were encouraged by the favorable land/seascape configuration to attempt sea-crossings and (c) spread to the Circum-Mediterranean basin sourcing from the Levant, following two converging routes, the one via the Aegean Sea and/or the Bosporus land-bridge and the other via the Gibraltar straits. Furthermore, the above presented findings provide substantial evidence that the archaic hominins had developed sea-crossing behaviours as early as 450 ka BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on local epidemiology is necessary when deciding on the introduction of a vaccine. Parents of children attending 1st and 6th grades completed a questionnaire on demographical data and varicella history. Analyzing 70,226 questionnaires, varicella was reported in 63.6% and 78.6% of 1st and 6th grade children, respectively (mean age 4.75 years), indicating that a quarter of children entering adolescence are susceptible. Children attending day care and children with older siblings had contracted chickenpox at a younger age. In conclusion, in Greece, in addition to introducing universal varicella vaccination, it is necessary to identify older children at risk and offer catchup vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the spatial distribution of particulate matter (PM) with diameter less than 1 μm (PM1) and particulate matter with diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) during the Sahara dust episode in 2006 and 2008 in greater area of Athens (GAA), Greece. The study used Kriging method to find out the exceedances of the particulate matter which represent the main hazard in cardiovascular and respiratory syndromes. It also notes that the PM concentration worsens the human health.

Abstract: The recent sedimentation processes at the head of Zakynthos Canyon in western Greece have been re-examined using a dense grid of high resolution seismic reflection profiles and sediment cores. The current survey has revealed three new sediment sources that contribute considerably to the filling of the canyon floor that were not detected in previous surveys. These sediment sources are (a) a string of five large pockmarks and (b) a large slide, both along the north Killini shelf, and (c) a canyon (Arcoudi Canyon) dissecting the central Killini shelf/slope. Furthermore, the erosional/depositional area, which was found to lie at the centre of the canyon floor, extends downslope and seems to be actively receiving material mainly from the Killini side. Three potential salt diapir locations were found and steeper slope gradients were proved to border the canyon head, in contrast to the results of the older surveys. Mass movements affect almost the entire part of the slopes bounding the canyon head and can be distinguished in slides, mass flows and turbidity currents. The subbottom structure of the canyon floor confirms this evidence since it is constructed of alternating mass flow and turbidity current deposits. The sedimentation processes are obviously affected by the high seismicity of the area, although salt diapirism and associated high slope inclinations, ascending gas from deeper sedimentary layers and homoclinal stratification seem to be dominant contributing factors. Sediment sources are classified according to their priority in the filling of the canyon floor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two pockmark fields, located along the coastal zone of the Patras and Corinth gulfs, Greece were surveyed in detail. The pockmark fields, which are 30 km apart, are formed in shallow waters at depths of 20–40 m and are about 0.5–1 km from the shoreline. The oceanographic data suggest that two different mechanisms were responsible for their formation. The pockmark field in the Patras Gulf appears to have been formed as a result of methane seepage from the seabed, whereas the field in the Corinth Gulf appears to have resulted from groundwater seepage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT High resolution seismic reflection surveys over one of the most active and rapidly extending regions in the world, the Gulf of Corinth, have revealed that the gulf is a complex asymmetric graben whose geometry varies significantly along its length. A detailed map of the offshore faults in the gulf shows that a major fault system of nine distinct faults limits the basin to the south. The northern Gulf appears to be undergoing regional subsidence and is affected by an antithetic major fault system consisting of eight faults. All these major faults have been active during the Quaternary. Uplifted coastlines along their footwalls, growth fault patterns and thickening of sediment strata toward the fault planes indicate that some of these offshore faults on both sides of the graben are active up to present. Our data ground-truth recent models and provides actual observations of the distribution of variable deformation rates in the Gulf of Corinth. Furthermore they suggest that the offshore faults should be taken into consideration in explaining the high extension rates and the uplift scenarios of the northern Peloponnesos coast. The observed coastal uplift appears to be the result of the cumulative effect of deformation accommodated by more than one fault and therefore, average uplift rates deduced from raised fossil shorelines, should be treated with caution when used to infer individual fault slip rates. Seismic reflection profiling is a vital tool in assessing seismic hazard and basin-formation in areas of active extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Ground Discrimination Systems and Multi-beam Echo Sounders tend to be the preferred tools towards gaining knowledge about the seafloor, numerous surveys have been and are still being performed by simultaneously using conventional sidescan Sonars (SSSs) and Sub-Bottom Profilers (SBPs). This is in respect of gaining fast, wide-scale, three-dimensional imaging of the seafloor and its substrate, extracting maximum value from a single, time-limited survey. The combination of these two systems offers good knowledge of both the stratigraphy and the habitat extents on the seabed, aspects often linked to each other. However, a basic drawback is the inconsistency between their mapping scales, as SSS produces high-resolution backscatter maps and SBP produces substrata information of high vertical but very low horizontal density. In this work, 100-kHz SSS and 3.5-kHz SBP data, collected simultaneously during a geophysical survey at a 5.5 × 3.3 km, shallow (10–50 m depth) Marine Protected Area in Lourdas Gulf, Kefalonia Island, Greece, underwent post-processing and analysis, to extract numerous statistical features from both the seafloor and its substrate, towards automated seafloor classification. The SSS mosaic image was subjected to segmentation, coupling the mean-shift algorithm and unsupervised classification. The SBP images were processed using edge enhancement/detection techniques and numerous features were extracted regarding the acoustic appearance, transparency and density of the automatically detected seismic reflectors. Supervised classification of the SBP derivatives exhibited their high discrimination ability between different sea-bed types, making them suitable for ground discrimination. Linking of the SBP classes to the SSS segments (object-based analysis) led to full coverage, high detailed benthic habitat maps. Training of the classifiers was carried out using data points in proximity to underwater video inspected areas, while validation was performed using a manual habitat map made by expert interpreters. Three marine habitat classification schemes have been examined separately, namely NATURA, EUNIS and a custom one, successively including more Habitat types in a hierarchical manner, as to validate the method under different complexity levels. The SSS mosaic, as well as an independent data-set acquired using RoxAnn acoustic ground discrimination system, were also used, each individually, to classify Lourdas Gulf in yet again an object-based manner. The latter showed that SBP derivatives led to an equally significant and in most cases better classification of benthic habitats, compared to those produced by the widely tested and documented SSS and RoxAnn systems, implying that they deserve further exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The southwestern flank of the Hellenic fold and thrust belt, situated along the southern edge of the Dinarides-Albanides-Hellenides continental convergent zone, was examined for reconstructing the tectonic deformation. This investigation presents an integrated study of onshore sedimentological and structural analyses, as well as offshore seismic lines, across the Pliocene-Pleistocene sedimentary succession in Zakynthos Island. Back-thrust faults, using the Triassic evaporites as decollement surface, during the Pliocene, and coeval diapiric intrusions formed three sub-basins on the hangingwall of the Kalamaki back-thrust fault. This interaction is responsible for the growth of the Skopos Mountain and the soft sediment deformation that formed synclines and slumps, respectively. Back-thrust and strike-slip faults were active during the early Pleistocene, and diapiric intrusions modified the bathymetry on the sea floor, giving rise to slumps and recumbent folds. At least five events of synsedimentary diapiric intrusions have been recognized and are marked by five slump horizons. During the Holocene, the diapiric intrusions between the Kalamaki back-thrust and the Vrachionas anticline could be either related to normal faults or gravitationally driven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research study regarding the air-sea heat fluxes as well as the total precipitable water in Aegean Sea, Europe, and North Africa respectively. It denotes the employability of the TPW and surface heat exchange component in determining the short wave radiation even in winter season. Researchers found out the occurrence of spatial correlation patterns due to radiative fluxes behavior.

Abstract: The sediments of a deep sea core (Z1) taken from the north-eastern part of the Ionian Sea near Corfu Island (Greece) was studied in order to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental history of the basin over the time interval between 22 and 1.5 ka. The downcore variation in the associations of planktonic foraminifera provides a continuous record of the faunal changes over this period. A succession of eight (8) main biozones, based on the major changes in the planktonic foraminifera record, were recognized. Their comparisons with records from the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic Seas have shown that there is a similarity and synchroneity in the zonation. Furthermore, the downcore compositional changes of the planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and the δ 18Ο signal made possible allowed the recognition of millennial to centennial climatic instabilities. These climatic instabilities are associated with the Heinrich 1 (H1) event, the GI-1a to GI-1e INTIMATE events, the Younger Dryas and the Holocene cool events at 8.2 ka, 7 ka, 5 ka, 4 ka and 3 ka. R-mode factor analysis applied to the percentage abundance of plantkonic foraminifera species from seven cores in the Ionian, Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas showed that the faunal composition in the three seas was controlled by temporal and spatial variations in: (i) the sea surface temperature, (ii) the stratification and mixing of the surficial waters and (iii) the fertility of surface waters associated with upwelling and/or river inputs. These variations were in phase or out of phase in the three seas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

*Dr Ferentinos is currently an Attending Physician in the General Hospital of Chalkida, GreeceObjective. C‐reactive protein (CRP) is a reliable laboratory test that is useful in distinguishing between viral and bacterial infection. Although widely used, blood sampling and the need for a well‐organized laboratory are limiting factors. Recently, a rapid test for serum CRP (QuickRead CRP) has been developed that can use both venous and capillary blood. The aim of this study was to use QuickRead CRP in our Pediatric Emergency Department and to compare this method with the standard laboratory determination (CRP‐lab). Material and methods. All children with fever were given a quick CRP test simultaneously with venous (CRP‐V) and capillary blood samples (CRP‐C). A total of 127 children were included in the study (median age 2.5 years). Results. The QuickRead CRP test had an excellent correlation with the standard biochemical determination (CRP‐lab). More importantly, there was no difference in determination of CRP in the venous and capillary blood samples. Finally, there was no significant intra‐assay variability. Conclusions. The QuickRead CRP test is easy to use, provides reliable results and reduces the need for antibacterial therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution geophysical surveys (seismic, side-scan sonar) offshore of the Eratini River, a seasonally flowing river in the NW Gulf of Corinth, Greece, revealed a small fan delta with a variety of bottom features (blocky deposits, chutes and sediment instabilities). Considering the relatively small size of this river, however, these features could not be explained as being produced solely by river flow processes. Based on morphological features, the fan delta can be subdivided into a high- and a low-energy area. Sedimentation processes in the fan delta are associated with flood-derived sediment input, hyperpycnal flows which erode the fan surface, mud settling from suspension plumes, shelf sedimentation and sediment failures. The observed blocky deposits are considered to be the result of earthquake-induced mass flows in 1965 and 1995, whereas the chutes would be produced both by erosive mass flows and by hyperpycnal currents. The bulk block sediment volume has probably resulted from the 1965 earthquake. The 1965 evacuation zone and the related chutes were buried by the prograding fan delta. The main causative factor triggering the observed sediment instabilities is considered to be liquefaction, which is caused by (1) frequent earthquake-induced cyclic loading and (2) low sediment shear strengths created by rapid deposition during floods, in both cases associated with high pore-water pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrimination between different lithospheric extension models focusing on the roles of low-angle vs. high-angle faulting, and how strain is distributed, requires high-fidelity imaging of brittle deformation. High-resolution seismic reflection and multibeam buthymetric data in the western Gulf of Corinth continental rift were collected to establish the contribution of offshore faults to extension. Onshore fault slip here is significantly less than expected from geodetic strain rates. The rift at this location is a half-graben tilted to the north by S-dipping faults within the uppermost crust. A basement horst on the northern margin is uplifted by the North and South Eratini faults, and the axial channel is fault controlled. Subsided lowstand shorelines in the hanging wall of the North Eratini and the well-studied Aigion fault suggest that the faults have similar displacements. Summed extension from the four major faults across this part of the rift (Eliki, Subchannel, South Eratini, North Eratini) is ∼8–16 mm/yr, thereby reconciling geologic and geodetic data sets. Distributed deformation across isolated multiple faults can model this part of the rift without recourse to, and potentially incompatible with, an underlying low-angle detachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On June 15 1995, a locally 6.2-R destructive earthquake occurred in the western Gulf of Corinth and caused extensive onshore and offshore sediment instabilities. A detailed offshore geophysical survey along the Tolofonas/Eratini coastline, soon after the earthquake, revealed the existence of two major sediment failures affecting the surficial 8 and 2 m of the recent sedimentary cover. The sizes of the two sediment failures are approximately 200 000 and 50 000 m2. The geotechnical study has shown that (1) the coastal sediments are stable under gravitational stresses and cyclic loading stresses induced by the 6.2-R earthquake and (2) the sediment failures were initiated due to liquefaction of subsurface layers. The failed sediments very quickly disintegrated and transformed to mass flows. The deformation of the failed sediment was caused by loss of sediment strength due to development of high pore water pressure induced by the earthquake. The study suggests that the alluvial fan deposits along the coastal zone of the western Corinth Gulf are susceptible to liquefaction by any earthquake event with a magnitude greater than 6 R, depending upon the proximity of the site to the earthquake epicenter. Earthquakes of magnitude 6 R are expected to occur every 22.7 years and therefore the recurrence interval for sediment failure events is about the same. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT The Alkyonides half-graben is separated from the Gerania Range to the south by active faults whose offshore traces are mapped in detail. The East Alkyonides and Psatha Faults have well-defined, Holocene-active tip zones and cannot be extrapolated from the onshore Skinos Fault into a single continuous surface trace. During the late Quaternary, catchments draining the step-faulted range front have supplied sediment to alluvial fans along a subsiding marine ramp margin in the hangingwall of the Skinos Fault, to shelf ledge fans on the uplifting footwall to the East Alkyonides Fault and to the Alepochori submarine fan in the hangingwall of the latter. During late Pleistocene lowstand times (c . 70–12 ka), sediment was deposited in Lake Corinth as fan deltas on the subsiding Skinos shelf ramp which acted as a sediment trap for the adjacent 360 m deep submarine basin plain. At the same time, the uplifting eastern shelf ledge was exposed, eroded and bypassed in favour of deposition on the Alepochori submarine fan. During Holocene times, the Skinos bajada was first the site of stability and soil formation, and then of substantial deposition before modern marine erosion cut a prominent cliffline. The uplifting eastern shelf ledge has developed substantial Holocene fan lobe depositional sequences as sediment-laden underflows have traversed it via outlet channels. We estimate mean Holocene displacement rates towards the tip of the Psatha Fault in the range 0.7–0.8 mm year-1 . Raised Holocene coastal notches indicate that this may be further partitioned into about 0.2 mm year-1 of footwall uplift and hence 0.5–0.6 mm year-1 of hangingwall subsidence. Holocene displacement rates towards the tip of the active East Alkyonides Fault are in the range 0.2–0.3 mm year-1 . Any uplift of the West Alkyonides Fault footwall is not keeping pace with subsidence of the Skinos Fault hangingwall, as revealed... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clin Microbiol Infect 2011; 17: 1681-1683 Abstract A major outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infections took place in 2010 in Greece. Apart from the neuroinvasive cases, many additional cases without involvement of the nervous system were observed, characterized by high fever, myalgia, rash, leukopenia, and long-lasting recovery. West Nile non-neuroinvasive disease is a distinct clinical syndrome, and is not always mild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Database systems have been developed to store data from large medical trials and survey studies. However, a reliable data storage system does not guarantee data entering reliability.We aimed to evaluate if double-blind control of the data manager might have any effect on data-reliability. Our secondary aim was to assess the influence of the inserting position in the insertion-sheet on data-entry accuracy and the effectiveness of electronic controls in identifying data-entering mistakes.Methods: A cross-sectional survey and single data-manager data entry.Data from PACMeR_02 survey, which had been conducted within a framework of the SESy-Europe project (PACMeR_01.4), were used as substrate for this study. We analyzed the electronic storage of 6,446 medical charts. We structured data insertion in four sequential phases. After each phase, the data stored in the database were tested in order to detect unreliable entries through both computerized and manual random control. Control was provided in a double blind fashion.Results: Double-blind control of the data manager didn't improve data entry reliability. Entries near the end of the insertion sheet were correlated with a larger number of mistakes. Data entry monitoring by electronic-control was statistically more effective than hand-searching of randomly selected medical records.Conclusion: Double-blind control of the data manager should be considered an avoidable cost. Electronic-control for monitoring of data-entry reliability is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]