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The effect of the corm size of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and the planting density was determined on a field study for six years. The objective of the present study was to determine the impact of the corm size and planting density on flower and stigma yields. Two corm sizes were used: corms with a diameter up to 2.5 cm and corms with a diameter greater than 2.5 cm, and five planting density: 22, 27, 33, 44 and 67 corms/m2 with planting distances 30, 25, 20, 15 and 10 cm on the plant row, respectively. The results showed that the year (growing season) and the interaction of year (growing season) with corm size affected all the characteristics that were studied. Over the six-year study period, there was a gradual increase in flowering from the first to the third year, followed by a decline in the fifth and sixth years. The yield of larger corms (greater than 2.5 cm) was higher during the first three years, while smaller corms (less than 2.5 cm) produced higher yields in the fourth through sixth years. On the contrary, the planting density, did not significantly affect the characteristics studied over the six years of cultivation and therefore did not affect the stigma yield of saffron. Therefore, corm size together with the environment are important factors that can affect the productivity and the longevity of the crop and should be considered when planting a new saffron cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Research on voice onset time (VOT) production of stops in children with CI versus NH has reported conflicting results. Effects of age and place of articulation on VOT have not been examined for children with CI. The purpose of this study was to examine VOT production by Greek-speaking children with CI in comparison to NH controls, with a focus on the effects of age, type of stimuli, and place of articulation. Methods: Participants were 24 children with CI aged from 2;8 to 13;3 years and 24 age- and gender-matched children with NH. Words were elicited via a picture-naming task, and nonwords were elicited via a fast mapping procedure. Results: For voiced stops, children with CI showed longer VOT than children with NH, whereas VOT for voiceless stops was similar to that of NH peers. Also, in both voiced and voiceless stops, the VOT differed as a function of age and place of articulation across groups. Differences as a function of stimulus type were only noted for voiced stops across groups. Conclusions: For the voiced stop consonants, which demand more articulatory effort, VOT production in children with CI was longer than in children with NH. For the voiceless stop consonants, VOT production in children with CI is acquired at a young age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term intercropping is used to describe agricultural systems where at least two or more species are cultivated in the same field for a portion of their biological cycle. It is an ancient agricultural practice that, with the evolution of agriculture, the prevalence of intensive cultivation systems, and the use of multiple inputs became mostly restricted to developing countries. However, due to climate instability and uncertainty about weather conditions, interest in intercropping has been revived in recent years. The objective of the present study was to determine which faba bean cultivar can be used with wheat cultivars to achieve higher yields and to examine the interaction between the cultivars in intercropping systems. It was found that the combination of Flamenko with Polycarpi gave the highest yield and showed complementarity in the interaction between these cultivars that also have the highest yield; also, the other indices that were used showed a good response on the intercropping system and the LER was 1.30 and 1.19 for the first and the second year of the study, respectively. Therefore, there are faba bean and wheat cultivars that are better adapted to intercropping conditions and can be utilized by farmers to enhance productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prickly sida is a troublesome annual weed native to the USA. It was introduced in Greece over two decades ago and has since been infesting cotton crops, where it proved difficult to control. A two-year field study (2021–2022) was conducted in a cotton field (Karditsa, central Greece) heavily infested with prickly sida to evaluate the efficacy of nine treatments against this weed, using pre-emergence (PRE) and early post-emergence (EPOST) herbicides applied at the field rate. At 8 weeks after treatment, prickly sida control was over 90% with pyrithiobac PRE (68.9 g ai ha−1) alone or in mixture with s-metolachlor (960 g ai ha−1) or with isoxaben (150 g ai ha−1) and with the application of pyrithiobac + s-metolachlor PRE (34.5 + 960 g ai ha−1) followed by pyrithiobac EPOST (34.5 g ai ha−1). Flurochloridone + fluometuron PRE (375 + 2000 g ai ha−1), flumioxazin + s-metolachlor PRE (50 + 960 g ai ha−1), or pendimethalin + terbuthylazine PRE (1500 + 750 g ai ha−1) controlled prickly sida by 89–93% in 2021 and 82–90% in 2022. Pyrithiobac EPOST alone or in mixture with trifloxysulfuron did not adequately control prickly sida. Yield was significantly lower in the weedy check and EPOST compared with the PRE treatments. None of the herbicides caused any visual injury to the crop or any reduction in cotton density. Our results can help in the successful management of prickly sida in non-transgenic cotton to maximize cotton yield and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present research was to examine the relationship between Greek young people aged 12-18 and the Internet through their patterns of Internet use in the home. A particular objective of the study was the investigation of the possible effects of social stratification, gender and age on their domestic Internet use. A sample of 418 high school students selected from 17 schools in four Greek cities completed a structured self-reported questionnaire primarily concerned with Internet use (frequency, purpose and behaviour patterns) at home and the types of the parental supervision. The research was carried out during the period 2004-2005. The main findings of the study were the following: (a) Internet access remains at a very low level and is insufficiently used for school purposes, (b) younger students (aged 12-15 years) use it more frequently than older ones for information seeking concerning school work, (c) the Internet is an indicator of social and economic stratification since most young people with access to it come from family environments with a higher educational and socioeconomic background and live in urban and semi urban areas, (d) boys make up the majority of systematic users, mainly for entertainment purposes, (e) the Internet is a place and space safeguarding the "privacy" of young people with the majority of them preferring to surf alone, (f) parental supervision and monitoring seems to be absent largely from the relationship between youth and the Internet, and (g) in general, the frequency and type of Internet use are not significantly affected by students' places of residence or the educational level and profession of their parents. (Contains 7 tables.)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine whether psychopathologic profile is related to the location of pain in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients with myofascial and/or temporomandibular joint pain.Materials and Methods: A total of 75 painful TMD patients (39 women and 36 men) participated in the study. Participants were divided into three groups (myogenous, arthrogenous, and mixed) using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD) Axis I guidelines for assessment of TMD signs and symptoms. Three psychometric instruments were used to assess the psychopathologic profile of the TMD subgroups. Patients' state and trait anxiety were assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S, STAI-T), depression was measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and psychosocial functioning was evaluated using the Global Disability Scale (Glo.Di.S). The three TMD groups were compared with Kruskal-Wallis test followed by pairwise Mann-Whitney tests relative to the psychometric scores. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 15.0 software.Results: No significant differences were detected among the different TMD groups in the three psychometric scales; STAI-T, CES-D, Glo.Di.S (P > .05). When the psychometric scale of state anxiety (STAI-S) was considered, significant differences were revealed between the myogenous and the arthrogenous pain groups (P = .008) and also between the mixed and the arthrogenous groups (P < .001).Conclusion: These findings suggest that the psychopathologic profile is not related to the location of pain in TMD patients. However, anxiety was found to be higher in TMD patients with myogenous pain alone or combined with arthrogenous pain compared to those with only arthrogenous pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]