University of Crete

Disclosure Form Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

ABSTRACT We present HECATEv2, the second release of the Heraklion Extragalactic Catalogue (HECATE), an all-sky, value-added galaxy catalogue comprising 204 733 galaxies from the Hyper Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database (HyperLEDA) with recession velocity $\lt 14\, 000 \, \rm {km\, s^{-1}}$ (D $\lesssim$ 200 Mpc). This release focuses on qualitative upgrades of the provided information while maintaining the same parent galaxy sample as HECATEv1. Improvements include a new cosmology-based distance framework, expanded and homogenized optical and mid-infrared (IR) photometry from SDSS-DR17/NSA, PS1-DR2, and All Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (AllWISE), and new quality-control flags for stellar contamination, incorrect photometry, and coordinate inconsistencies. We also extend the galaxy-size coverage and derive stellar population parameters for a substantially larger fraction of the sample. Star formation rates ($\mathrm{SFR}$) and stellar masses (${{M}_{\star }}$) are now available for $\gt 70$ per cent of galaxies using updated mid-IR/optical calibrations that account for stellar population age and dust attenuation, while gas-phase metallicities are derived for $\sim 90~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. Activity classifications are provided for $\gt 50$ per cent of galaxies based on spectroscopic and/or photometric diagnostics, and supermassive black hole (SMBH) masses for $\sim 86~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. In terms of $L_{B}$, $L_{Ks}$, $\mathrm{SFR}$, and ${{M}_{\star }}$, HECATEv2 is among the most complete local-universe catalogues with spectroscopic redshifts. We also provide spatial completeness maps as a function of distance and luminosity, highlighting variations across the sky. Compared to other catalogues (e.g. GLADE+ and NED-LVS), HECATEv2 offers broader (optical, near- and far-IR photometry, metallicity, and activity classifications) or comparable (mid-IR photometry, $\mathrm{SFR}$, and ${{M}_{\star }}$) coverage, making it a robust reference for studies of SMBH–host galaxy connections, gravitational-wave and high-energy transient hosts, population analyses, and rare galaxy subpopulations.

The mitotic spindle is a microtubule-based apparatus that is responsible for accurate segregation of chromosomes into two daughter cells. In this study, we show that the DNA damage kinase Chk1 is required for optimal density and efficient nucleation of spindle microtubules during unperturbed mitosis in vertebrate cells. Chk1 phosphorylates β-tubulin at the identified conserved site threonine-285 (T285) in vitro, and at mitotic centrosomes in prometaphase and metaphase. Impaired β-tubulin-T285 phosphorylation correlates with improper spindles, delayed anaphase onset, erroneous chromosome alignment and segregation, unequal daughter cell-size and reduced cell proliferation. The ATR-interacting protein ATRIP promotes localization of ATR kinase and the mediator protein TopBP1 to mitotic centrosomes; furthermore, interaction of ATRIP with ATR and TopBP1 is required for Chk1 activation and β-tubulin-T285 phosphorylation. These results identify a signaling pathway that promotes spindle maturation and function in human cells, through Chk1-mediated β-tubulin-T285 phosphorylation.

We provide, for the first time, an annotated checklist of the beetle fauna of Crete, Greece. We present an overview of the coleopterological history of Crete, along with background information of the physical attributes of the island. Data for the checklist were extracted from the collection of the Natural History Museum of Crete, GBIF, Fauna Europaea, the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera and various revisions. We report 2201 unique taxa (species or subspecies) belonging to 63 families. We also report 355 taxa as endemic to Crete or the surrounding islets, and 48 taxa as adventive to Crete. Fourteen new species records are reported, two for Buprestidae, two for Histeridae (including a new record for Greece), one for Oedemeridae (including a new record for Greece) and nine for Scarabaeidae. We compare the beetle fauna of Crete with the beetle fauna of Cyprus, Malta, and Sardinia within the Mediterranean Sea. Additionally, we provide comparisons with the California Channel Islands, the Canary Islands, the Galapagos Islands and the Socotra Archipelago.

Early childhood development depends on stable routines, social interaction and responsive caregiving. The 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic disrupted these supports through lockdowns, reduced early-education access and elevated caregiver stress. The present review synthesized empirical studies (2020-2025) of children aged 0-5 years and found consistent evidence of modest increases in emotional and behavioral difficulties, particularly where caregiver stress or socioeconomic adversity was elevated. Cognitive, language and executive-function (EF) outcomes were found to be more heterogeneous and appeared most affected in the contexts of reduced stimulation or limited access to early learning, with EF processes showing particular sensitivity to stress-related and environmental disruptions. Biological findings (cortisol, DNA methylation and infant brain measures) showed a number of converging signals, particularly in higher-risk contexts, but remained preliminary given modest sample sizes, methodological heterogeneity and limited replication. Overall, this suggested that pandemic-related disruptions disproportionately affected children in vulnerable family contexts. Therefore, the present study suggested targeted caregiver mental-health support, preservation of early-education access during emergencies and longitudinal follow-up of high-risk cohorts.

The Quick Look Content (QLC) suite provides automated forecast verification and analysis capabilities optimized for the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and emerging AI-integrated forecasting systems. QLC addresses the growing need for systematic, reproducible evaluation of atmospheric composition forecasts through an end-to-end workflow from data retrieval to publication-quality visualizations.The system integrates direct access to ECMWF's MARS archive with currently 16 observation networks including EBAS, AirNow, and GHOST-harmonized datasets, covering 7,855 atmospheric variables. Native GRIB support preserves forecast step information critical for analyzing temporal forecast evolution. QLC handles the complete verification workflow: automated MARS data retrieval, model-observation collocation with configurable spatial and temporal matching, statistical analysis including bias, RMSE, and correlation metrics, and generation of comprehensive visualizations (e.g., maps, time series, scatter plots, Taylor diagrams).Recent development of an AIFS-specific workflow enables systematic comparison of AI-integrated forecasts against traditional IFS-COMPO runs and observational data. QLC supports multiple evaluation modes: single experiment validation, multi-experiment intercomparison, and observation-only analysis. Processing scales from single-station quick looks to continental-scale multi-variable assessments. Integration with the evaltools package (CNRM/Météo-France) provides advanced statistical diagnostics including diurnal cycles, station score maps, and exceedance analysis.Here we introduce QLC and demonstrate its capabilities through verification examples comparing IFS-COMPO and AIFS-COMPO forecasts for ozone, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter against multi-network observations. Results highlight the tool's utility for operational forecast monitoring, model development support, and scientific analysis. The open-source package (PyPI: rc-qlc) is designed for use on both HPC systems and workstations, with one-command installation and comprehensive documentation at docs.researchconcepts.io/qlc.This work is supported by CAMS2_35_bis_KNMI: "Developments on reactive gases and aerosol in the global system" (https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/).

Peer victimization during preadolescence constitutes a significant public mental health concern, particularly for children with special educational needs (SEN). Family relational factors, and especially paternal acceptance-rejection, may influence children's psychosocial adjustment and vulnerability to victimization. The present study examined the associations between perceived paternal acceptance-rejection, multidimensional self-perception, and peer victimization among preadolescents with and without SEN. A total of 660 students attending the final grades of Greek primary schools (553 without SEN; 107 with formally identified SEN) completed standardized self-report measures of peer victimization, perceived paternal acceptance-rejection, and self-perception domains. Separate path analyses were conducted for each group to examine direct and indirect relational pathways. Among children without SEN, perceived paternal hostility/aggression was directly associated with peer victimization and indirectly associated through behavioral conduct problems and lower school competence. In contrast, among children with SEN, the absence of paternal warmth and perceived paternal indifference/rejection were directly associated with victimization, whereas paternal hostility was not significantly associated, and self-perception did not function as a mediator. Model fit indices indicated excellent fit in both groups. These findings suggest distinct paternal relational mechanisms underlying peer victimization depending on SEN status. Interventions aimed at preventing victimization may benefit from incorporating father-focused family components alongside school-based strategies, with particular emphasis on emotional warmth and support for children with SEN.

Historical newspapers are invaluable resources that capture the cultural, social, economic, and political dimensions of their time, providing unique insights into past events and daily life. However, the potential of these archives remains underutilised due to the limitations of traditional research methods, which rely on laborious manual examination of individual pages or articles. Digital archives have begun to address this issue by enhancing accessibility, but the lack of effective tools for parsing and analysing the contents still restricts their utility for large-scale historical research. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology plays a foundational role in converting scanned images into searchable text. However, OCR alone cannot adequately handle the complexities of historical newspapers, which often feature degraded image quality, inconsistent typography, and intricate layouts. In parallel, the effective segmentation and ordering of newspaper contents is essential for generating well-structured and logically ordered data from specific newspaper sections. This paper focuses on the development of a pipeline that addresses these challenges, using the daily newspaper Le Sémaphore de Marseille as a case study (35,703 issues covering the period 1827 to 1944). The proposed system integrates layout analysis, OCR, and Generative AI-driven information extraction techniques to extract specific data elements from scanned images, namely ship arrivals data, and to store them in a machine-readable format for further analysis. This well-structured output enables historians to analyse historical trade patterns, economic trends, and regional interactions more efficiently and at a much larger scale. An evaluation of the key pipeline components demonstrates the effectiveness of the system, achieving an F1-score of 96% in paragraph segmentation and information extraction, while also highlighting the need for further improvement in the critical OCR component.