University of Crete

Epitaxial growth is a dynamic process and, to the first order, is governed by the nature and the rates of elementary surface kinetic mechanisms, such as adatom desorption. In compound-type growing surfaces, particularly in III-nitride molecular beam epitaxy, where the presence of a metallic surface bilayer has a catalytic role, desorption also affects the rates of other elementary mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the desorption of an indium (In) adlayer from GaN(0001) surfaces, a critical kinetic process in the epitaxy of In-containing alloys, using reflection high-energy electron diffraction, density functional theory calculations, and quasi-continuous modeling methods to reveal the underlying physical mechanisms. Our results demonstrate that while the indium bilayer desorbs in a layer-by-layer mode, the desorption mechanisms from the bottom and top monolayers differ significantly. The bottom follows a 3/4 order Polanyi–Wigner relation, attributed to contributions from two different adlayer phases. The top monolayer desorption exhibits a non-monotonic dependence on coverage. This is associated with the liquidus status of this monolayer and its continuous restructuring during desorption. These findings clarify and quantify indium desorption processes from GaN(0001) surfaces, offering insights into analogous mechanisms in other compound-type material systems.

Physical activity measured by accelerometry (PA-accelerometry) is used as an indicator of physical capacity in chronic diseases. Currently, only fragmented age ranges of reference percentile curves are available for European children and adolescents. This study aimed to provide age- and sex-specific percentiles for physical activity measured by hip-worn accelerometry derived throughout the full age range of European children and adolescents. Individual-level population-based PA data measured by accelerometry from HELENA and IDEFICS/I.Family studies were pooled and harmonized. Together these studies involved children and adolescents aged 2–18 years from 12 European countries. Primary outcomes included averaged counts per minute (CPM), sedentary time (SED), light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape were used to derive age- and sex-specific reference percentile curves for these outcomes. The combined cohort consisted of 11,645 children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years who contributed 14,610 valid accelerometry recordings, with a median accelerometer wear time of 6 days. This dataset allowed for the construction of age- and sex-specific reference percentile curves for CPM, SED, LPA, and MVPA. The curves demonstrated varying trends and variability across age groups. Conclusions: This study provides age- and sex-specific percentile curves for PA-accelerometry in European children and adolescents, addressing a current gap in the availability of full-age range reference data. These curves based on healthy children and adolescents can be used by clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to interpret PA-accelerometry measurements, track physical activity trends, and evaluate treatment responses and health interventions. What is Known: • Daily physical activity (PA) is considered an important measure in various paediatric conditions. Existing reference data for PA in European children based on hip-worn accelerometers are limited to specific age ranges, and comprehensive data covering the full age range are lacking. What is New: • The study provides age- and sex-specific reference curves for PA derived by hip-worn accelerometers in European children and adolescents. These curves aid clinicians, researchers, and policymakers in interpreting PA measurements and tracking trends over time in European children.

AI tools in radiology are revolutionising the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of patients. However, there is a major gap between the large number of developed AI tools and those translated into daily clinical practice, which can be primarily attributed to limited usefulness and trust in current AI tools. Instead of technically driven development, little effort has been put into value-based development to ensure AI tools will have a clinically relevant impact on patient care. An iterative comprehensive value evaluation process covering the complete AI tool lifecycle should be part of radiology AI development. For value assessment of health technologies, health technology assessment (HTA) is an extensively used and comprehensive method. While most aspects of value covered by HTA apply to radiology AI, additional aspects, including transparency, explainability, and robustness, are unique to radiology AI and crucial in its value assessment. Additionally, value assessment should already be included early in the design stage to determine the potential impact and subsequent requirements of the AI tool. Such early assessment should be systematic, transparent, and practical to ensure all stakeholders and value aspects are considered. Hence, early value-based development by incorporating early HTA will lead to more valuable AI tools and thus facilitate translation to clinical practice. Clinical relevance statement This paper advocates for the use of early value-based assessments. These assessments promote a comprehensive evaluation on how an AI tool in development can provide value in clinical practice and thus help improve the quality of these tools and the clinical process they support. Key Points Value in radiology AI should be perceived as a comprehensive term including health technology assessment domains and AI-specific domains. Incorporation of an early health technology assessment for radiology AI during development will lead to more valuable radiology AI tools. Comprehensive and transparent value assessment of radiology AI tools is essential for their widespread adoption.

Road infrastructure significantly impacts how people move, live, and the emissions associated with travel behaviour. The design of roads is crucial in mitigating emissions. This paper reviews existing transport Life-Cycle Assessment tools that have been developed by various entities and can be used for roads. The review focuses on several aspects in terms of data sources used in the analysis, the methods of estimating carbon emissions, the underlying software that is used to make the estimates and any limitations of the tools. A critical issue identified in Life-Cycle Assessment analysis is the erroneous assumption that relationships within the assessed systems are linear. The current tools focusing on transport infrastructure assessment were developed based on the linear assumptions and limitations of the Life-Cycle Assessment analysis. A significant research gap identified is that existing Life-Cycle Assessment tools are not integrated with the design process. The analysis is an add-on process to design and the results of an assessment are not then used iteratively to enhance the design. A case study on aggregate road design found that road area significantly correlates with emissions, slope adjustments reduce emissions, and soil type impacts emissions, suggesting future research should explore nonlinear relationships for sustainable road design.

Inscription and characterization of Bragg reflectors in polypropylene (PP) no-core optical fibers using 248-nm KrF excimer laser radiation are presented for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. A new photo-sensitization approach is adopted by means of pre-loading the PP no-core fibers using toluene in-diffusion, for increasing Bragg reflector recording yield. The Bragg reflector inscription process was monitored online, for both pristine and toluene loaded PP no-core fibers under identical exposure conditions, revealing that toluene loaded samples leaded to threefold stronger reflectors and average refractive index changes of the order of 1.1 × 10⁻³. The Bragg reflectors were characterized for their response to strain (1.62 pm/µɛ), and temperature (-145 pm/°C) while negligible sensitivity to water diffusion was recorded. The photosensitivity mechanism of the toluene in-diffused PP no-core optical fibers using 248-nm KrF excimer laser radiation is also discussed.

On a global basis, retailing is one of the largest and most diversified industries and plays a central role in the economies of all countries.

The dilemma of scale in retailing refers to the survival of the small physical store, which is also one of the most traditional forms of entrepreneurship. The debate about the survival or not of small retail businesses, which once seemed to disappear with the invasion of department stores, supermarkets, and shopping malls, seems to be coming back at a time when global platforms now play a key role in the entire retail chain. The polarization between small and large retailers has become an important topic in retailing literature in the last two decades.

From the previous historical review of the emergence and evolution of the various forms of retailing, it became evident that one of the key characteristics is continuous transformation. Small general retailers came first, followed by specialty stores, and then department stores, followed by supermarkets and discount stores.

Purpose To investigate the effect of pre-biopsy rectal swab and urine screening combined with a risk-adapted antibiotic treatment strategy on reducing post-biopsy infections (PBIs) following multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI)/ transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) fusion-targeted transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPBx). Methods 1119 Patients undergoing mpMRI-TRUS fusion TRPBx between June 2017 and February 2024 were included. Patients were screened for rectal extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)/multi-resistant gram-negative (MRGN) and urinary pathogens. Standard-risk patients (rectal non-ESBL/MRGN-carriers) either received Cefuroxime (2017–2020) or Ceftriaxone (2020–2024) intravenously before biopsy. For high-risk patients (rectal ESBL/MRGN-carriers) intravenous Ertapenem was used. Patients with positive urine cultures received oral targeted prophylaxis. PBIs were the primary outcome of the study. We used uni- and multivariable logistic regression analysis (MLRA) to reveal predictors for the main outcome. Results Rectal ESBL/MRGN prevalence was 5.5%. For standard-risk patients, PBI-rates were 8.1% and 0.24% for Cefuroxime and Ceftriaxone (p < 0.0001), respectively. Only 1.7% of high-risk patients treated with Ertapenem developed PBI. On MLRA, Cefuroxime (OR 38.7, 95%-CI: 10.9–246), oral Ciprofloxacin (OR 103, 95%-CI: 10.8–994), other oral targeted antibiotics (OR 42.7, 95%-CI: 1.86–496) (reference Ceftriaxone, all p < 0.005) were significant predictors for PBI whereas Ertapenem (OR 7.30 95%-CI: 0.34–77.4, p = 0.11) was not. Conclusion By integrating rectal swab ESBL/MRGN and urine screening, we developed a tailored antibiotic treatment strategy, resulting in low PBI-rates following TRPBx. Carbapenem-based treatment of high-risk patients is crucial. Ceftriaxone should be considered for routine use in standard-risk patients as it offers very low PBI-rates.

The structural variability and chemical stability of metal phosphonates under harsh conditions are attractive attributes that have drawn considerable attention in recent years. As the need for more sustainable solutions rises, the demand for novel and tolerant materials also increases. Thus, herein we report, for the first time, the synthesis of a novel diphosphonic organic linker named pyrazole diphenyl phosphonate (PZDP), envisioning the fabrication of durable metal phosphonates. In view of this, a series of M‐PZDP materials (M=Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn and Co) were synthesized employing either solvothermal or hydrothermal methods. The crystal structures of the Ca, Sr, Zn, and Co derivatives were determined revealing a 2D‐pillared architecture. Zn‐PZDP is an anionic framework with dimethylammonium cations. The Co‐PZDP compound was tested as a heterogeneous catalyst in olefin epoxidation employing molecular oxygen.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is an incurable and debilitating progressive, neurodegenerative disorder which is the leading cause of dementia worldwide. Neuropathologically, AD is characterized by the accumulation of Aβ amyloid plaques in the microenvironment of brain cells and neurovascular walls, chronic neuroinflammation, resulting in neuronal and synaptic loss, myelin and axonal failure, as well as significant reduction in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. The hippocampal formation is particularly vulnerable to this degenerative process, due to early dysfunction of the cholinergic circuit. Neurotrophic factors consist major regulatory molecules and their decline in AD is considered as an important cause of disease onset and progression. Novel pharmacological approaches are targeting the downstream pathways controlled by neurotrophins, such as nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors, TrkA and p75NTR, which enhance hippocampal neurogenic capacity and neuroprotective mechanisms, and potentially counteract the neurotoxic effects of amyloid deposition. BNN27 is a non-toxic, newly developed 17-spiro-steroid analog, penetrating the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) and mimicking the neuroprotective effects of NGF, acting as selective activator of its receptors, both TrkA and p75NTR, thus promoting survival of various neuronal cell types. Our present research aims at determining whether and which aspects of the AD-related pathology, BNN27 is able to alleviate, exploring the cellular and molecular AD components and link these changes with improvements in the cognitive performance of an animal AD model, the 5xFAD mice. Our results clearly indicate that BNN27 administration significantly reduced amyloid-β load in whole brain of the animals, enhanced adult hippocampal neurogenesis, restored cholinergic function and synaptogenesis, reducing inflammatory activation and leading to significant restoration of cognitive functions. BNN27 may represent a new lead multimodal molecule with neuroprotective, neurogenic and anti-neuroinflammatory actions for developing druggable anti-Alzheimeric agents. Proteomics data are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD044699.

In this paper, we explore the usage of decision aids, patient information leaflets (PILs), videos, social media and modern technology to empower patients and enable shared decision-making (SDM). It explores the role of enhanced consent processes in urology. A re-evaluation of the conventional consent process is required towards more patient-centred care and SDM, which prioritises patient education and understanding of their medical conditions and treatment pathways. The use of decision aids, such as multimedia resources and PILs, is crucial in enhancing patients’ understanding, level of satisfaction, quality of life and healthcare utilisation. New tools are opening exciting possibilities for patient education and information distribution, such as Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT). The effectiveness of ChatGPT in comparison to well-established PILs is still up for debate, despite the fact that it makes information easily accessible. Improving patients’ involvement, understanding and engagement in SDM procedures relies heavily on decision aids, PILs and current technological integration. Patients and healthcare practitioners should work together in accordance with the principles of SDM, which include considering patients’ values, backgrounds, priorities and preferences when making treatment decisions. The emphasis on patient-centred care has prompted a re-evaluation of traditional consent processes in urology, with more emphasis on the shared decision-making process. Several informative aids are currently available as reported in the literature, ranging from 3D models, multimedia presentations and virtual reality (VR) devices. While the costs of these tools might be substantial, the advantages of adopting such informative resources are unmistakable. Social media and platforms such as patient–physician blogs are increasingly popular sources of medical information. Urologists should embrace these platforms to enhance patient engagement and the quality of information provided. Despite recent progress, there remains significant room for improvement in patient education and engagement which is achievable via concerted efforts of a wider medical community.