Materials Industrial Research and Technology Development Centre (Greece)

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an endemic zoonotic disease in southern Europe with increasing clinical relevance among immunocompromised populations; however, detailed clinical data remain scarce. This retrospective multicentre cohort study analysed patients with confirmed VL treated at seven hospitals in Greece over a 26-year period. Clinical, treatment, and outcome data were collected with a minimum follow-up of 18 months to assess cure, treatment failure, relapse, and mortality. A total of 144 patients were enrolled (59% male; mean age 41.8 years, range 0.1-84 years), most of whom were Greek nationals (85%) and resided in rural areas (61%). Fever was the primary reason for hospital admission in 95% of patients. At diagnosis, 42 patients (29%) were immunocompromised. These patients were significantly older than immunocompetent individuals and more likely to present with diarrhoea and arthralgia, whereas hepatomegaly was less frequent. Liposomal amphotericin B was administered to 90% of patients. Treatment failure occurred in 14 patients (10%) and was significantly associated with immunosuppression and leukaemia. Relapse within 18 months occurred in 5.5% of patients. Overall mortality was relatively low (7 patients, 5%), with one death directly attributable to VL. This study demonstrates that VL remains endemic in Greece, affects patients across all age groups, and is primarily autochthonous. Immunosuppression is associated with distinct clinical features and poorer treatment outcomes in VL, underscoring the need for heightened clinical vigilance, combined diagnostic approaches, and extended follow-up in vulnerable populations.

Pytho is a small saproxylic genus with 10 species belonging to the tenebrionoid family of Pythidae, that live in the cambial layer of dead trees whilst feeding on them. Pytho depressus is the most widespread species of the genus with records in more than 30 countries. In this study we report the occurrence of this genus and this species for the first time in Greece, something that marks the southernmost distribution of the species worldwide.

Bladder dysfunction, particularly neurogenic detrusor overactivity (DO), poses a substantial challenge in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, detrimentally impacting their quality of life (QoL). Conventional therapies often fall short, necessitating alternative approaches like posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) for effective management. This narrative review critically examines the application of PTNS in treating DO among MS patients, aiming to provide a comprehensive synthesis of its efficacy, underlying mechanisms, and clinical outcomes. By evaluating a spectrum of studies, including randomized controlled trials and long-term follow-up research, the review elucidates PTNS's role in enhancing bladder control and ameliorating symptoms of urgency and incontinence, thereby improving patient well-being. Despite its potential, the review acknowledges the limited scope of existing research specific to MS-induced neurogenic DO and calls for further investigation to optimize PTNS protocols and understand its long-term benefits. Highlighting PTNS's minimal invasiveness and favorable safety profile, the review advocates for its consideration as a viable third-line treatment option in MS-related bladder dysfunction management. Through this analysis, the review contributes to the broader narrative of seeking effective, patient-centered therapeutic strategies for MS-related complications, underscoring the importance of personalized care in improving patient outcomes.

Nanomaterials are integrated within consumer products to enhance specific properties of interest. Their release throughout the lifecycle of nano-enabled products raises concerns; specifically, mechanical strains can lead to the generation of fragmented materials containing nanomaterials. We investigated the potential release of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs-brand TUBALL™) from epoxy composite materials. A pin-on-disk-type tribometer was used for the accelerated mechanical aging of the nanocomposites. A pristine nanocomposite material, abraded material and debris obtained from the abrasion in the tribometer were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The airborne-produced particles were captured using particle collectors. Stat Peel's Identifier C2 system was used to monitor the SWCNT content of respirable particles produced during the abrasion test. The SWCNT amounts found were below the LoQ. The Raman spectra conducted on the Stat Peel filters helped identify the presence of free SWCNTs released from the epoxy matrix, although they were notably scarce. Raman spectroscopy has been proved to be a crucial technique for the identification, characterization and assessment of structural changes and degradation in SWCNTs that occurred during the abrasion experiments.

Effectively querying unstructured text information in large databases is a highly demanding task. Conventional approaches, such as an exact match or fuzzy search, return valid and thorough results only when the user query adequately matches the wording within the text or the query is included in keyword-tag lists. The GEOSS portal relies on conventional search tools for data and services exploration and retrieval, limiting its capacity. This challenge, recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based Natural Language Processing (NLP) try to surpass with enhanced information retrieval and cognitive search. Rather than relying on exact or fuzzy text matching, it detects documents that semantically and conceptually are close enough to the search query. The EIFFEL EU-funded project aims to reveal the role of GEOSS as the default Digital Portal for building Climate Change (CC) adaption and mitigation applications and offer the Earth Observation community the ground-breaking capacity of exploiting existing GEOSS datasets. To this end, as a lead technological partner of the EIFFEL consortium, LIBRA AI Technologies, designs and develops an end-to-end advanced cognitive search system dedicated to the GEOSS Portal and exceeds current challenges.The proposed system comprises an AI language model optimized for CC-related text and queries, a framework for collecting a sizeable CC-specific corpus used for the language model specialization, a back-end that adopts modern database technologies with advanced capabilities for embedding-based cognitive search matching, and an open Application Programming Interface (API). The cognitive search component is the backbone of the EIFFEL visualisation engine, which will allow any GEOSS user, as well as the EIFFEL Climate Change application developing teams, to detect GEOSS data objects and services that are of interest for their research and application but could not effectively get accessed with the available GEOSS Portal search engine.The work described in this abstract is part of the EIFFEL European project. The EIFFEL project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101003518. We thank all partners for their valuable contributions.

A 52-year-old woman developed branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) in her right eye, resulting in blurred vision with visual acuities of 6/9 and 6/6-2 in the affected and unaffected eye respectively (Snellen). The patient was successfully treated with a course of eight intravitreal aflibercept injections, improving binocular visual acuity to 6/6. During the course of her ocular management, she was admitted for acute dyspnoea secondary to interstitial lung disease (ILD). The patient was diagnosed with the antisynthetase syndrome (ASS), testing positive for PL-7 auto-antibodies. ASS may have a systemic association with BRVO; although ASS is a rare condition, it should be suspected and investigated in patients with risk factors, particularly if they present with symptoms of ILD. Early ocular intervention is associated with excellent visual outcomes, and prompt diagnosis and treatment of ASS may potentially reduce risks of further retinal vaso-occlusive episodes.