Thermal comfort of various building layouts with a proposed discomfort index range for tropical climate

Recent years have seen issues related to thermal comfort gaining more momentum in tropical countries. The thermal adaptation and thermal comfort index play a significant role in evaluating the outdoor thermal comfort. In this study, the aim is to capture the thermal sensation of respondents at outdoor environment through questionnaire survey and to determine the discomfort index (DI) to measure the thermal discomfort level. The results indicated that most respondents had thermally accepted the existing environment conditions although they felt slightly warm and hot. A strong correlation between thermal sensation and measured DI was also identified. As a result, a new discomfort index range had been proposed in association with local climate and thermal sensation of occupants to evaluate thermal comfort. The results had proved that the respondents can adapt to a wider range of thermal conditions.Validation of the questionnaire data at Putrajaya was done to prove that the thermal sensation in both Putrajaya and UTM was almost similar since they are located in the same tropical climate region. Hence, a quantitative field study on building layouts was done to facilitate the outdoor human discomfort level based on newly proposed discomfort index range. The results showed that slightly shaded building layouts of type- A and B exhibited higher temperature and discomfort index. The resultant adaptive thermal comfort theory was incorporated into the field studies as well. Finally, the study also showed that the DI values were highly dependent on ambient temperature and relative humidity but had fewer effects for solar radiation intensity.     

Too close for comfort: spatial patterns in acorn barnacle populations

Spatial patterns in aggregations form as a result of the interplay between costs and benefits experienced by individuals. Such self-organisation of aggregations can be explained using a zonal model in which a short-range zone of repulsion and longer-range zone of attraction surrounding individuals leads to emergent pattern properties. The signal of these processes can be detected using spatial pattern analyses. Furthermore, in sessile organisms, post-settlement mortality reveals the relative costs and benefits of positions within the aggregation. Acorn barnacles are known to require contact with conspecifics for reproduction and are therefore believed to aggregate for this purpose; isolated individuals may also be more susceptible to abiotic stress and predation. At short distances, however, competition for space and resources is likely to occur. In this study spatial patterns of barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides L.) were analysed using pair-correlation functions. Individuals were dispersed at distances below 0.30 cm, but peak relative density occurred at a distance of 0.36 cm from conspecifics. This is much closer than required for reproductive access, implying a strong aggregative drive, up to the point of physical contact with neighbours. Nevertheless, analysis of dead barnacles illustrated that such proximity carries a cost as barnacles with many neighbours were more likely to have died. The inferences obtained from these patterns are that barnacles aggregate as closely as they can, and that local neighbourhood competition is a powerful determinant of mortality. These processes give rise to the observed pattern properties.     

The development of agrometeorological science in Greece

This paper describes the development of the agrometeorology science in Greece from the mid-1970s, when the first “Agrometeorology and Hydrology Division” was established within the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS), until today. To do so, a series of representative agrometeorology studies conducted mainly by HNMS is discussed in chronological order. Through these studies, one can observe the gradual integration of the fields of agriculture and meteorology and the formulation of a proper multidisciplinary agrometeorology science in Greece, as well as the constant progress in the relative scientific production. Finally, perceiving climate change as a driving force for the conduction of long-term planning for the agricultural sector in Greece, the paper proposes as priorities for the future development of agrometeorology the provision of an adequate network of agro-meteorological stations, the exploitation of satellite information, the reinforcement of the communication between scientists and farmers, and the strengthening of the role of HNMS as a channel for ensuring mutual understanding.     

Medical confidentiality: legal and ethical aspects in Greece

Respect for confidentiality is firmly established in codes of ethics and law. Medical care and the patients' trust depend on the ability of the doctors to maintain confidentiality. Without a guarantee of confidentiality, many patients would want to avoid seeking medical assistance The principle of confidentiality, however, is not absolute and may be overridden by public interests. On some occasions (birth, death, infectious disease) there is a legal obligation on the part of the doctor to disclose but only to the appropriate authorities. Permissible disclosure can be granted by the patients' consent, for example, for the purpose of insurance they may wish to take out. Moreover, there are some ambivalent situations (such as criminal acts, or notification of sexual partner in case of a patient with AIDS) for which Greek law does not include relevant provisions, and the Codes of Medical Ethics do not offer clear guidelines. Therefore, the Greek doctor is called to estimate the situation and assume full responsibility for his decision. Finally, new considerations have arisen in the context of the recent advances in the field of telemedicine and electronic archiving. The paper discusses the current situation and legislation in Greece.     

The European Refugee Crisis and Humanitarian Citizenship in Greece

Greece has been at the epicentre of two overlapping ‘humanitarian crises:’ the economic crisis and the crisis of refugees. Since 2011, as austerity policies have hamstrung the Greek state’s capacity to meet the basic needs of citizens, long-term residents, and new arrivals alike, formal and informal humanitarian initiatives have sought to provide for diverse beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the ‘refugee crisis’ has opened up a booming humanitarian marketplace in Greece. This article draws on my long-term research in the field of asylum in Greece, and ethnographic data from research on ‘social solidarity clinics and pharmacies,’ grassroots initiatives meant to provide medicines and care to citizens and non-citizens in need. I argue that the Greek case signals the emergence of what I call ‘humanitarian citizenship’ on European margins: the replacement of both social rights (afforded to citizens) and human rights (afforded to refugees) with humanitarian logics and sentiments, positioning both citizens and non-citizens in a partially shared continuum of precarity.     

Violence against migrants in Greece: beyond the Golden Dawn

Violence perpetrated against migrants by Golden Dawn was rarely investigated or prosecuted by Greek authorities and was discursively constructed as exceptional, contrary to the norms of Greek democracy and committed by marginalized individuals and groups. The article argues that state responses have been shaped by racialized discourses and policies on migration and racism. Anti-migrant violence has been legitimated through three interlinked discursive strategies: a narrative of ‘isolated events’; the denial of its racialized nature; and the rationalization of both state and non-state anti-migrant violence as a regrettable yet understandable defensive reaction to the threats posed by migration.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus content in plant species of Mediterranean ecosystems in Greece

The values of nitrogen phosphorus ratios measured in green parts of evergreen sclerophylls, seasonal dimorphic, deciduous and herbaceous plants found in Mediterranean-type ecosystems of Greece, form a homogeneous group, which is comparable only with those of analogous ecosystems of California but not with Mediterranean systems of the southern hemisphere.Nomenclature follows: Tutin et al., 1964. Flora Europaea.Support of National Research Foundation (Greece) and NATO (SRG-12) is gratefully acknowledged.     

The national park policy context in Greece: Park users’ perspectives of issues in park administration

The history of the national parks in Greece involves a succession of issues pertinent to the legal framework and nature of park authorities. To date the largely state-based administration and the restrictive management practices have failed to grant effective protection and management in the designated areas largely due to organisational and institutional weaknesses, ineffective policy coordination and insufficient park authorities. The latest revision of the system of park administration and legislation in Greece heralded some changes that can improve the management of national parks. The key question is whether the creation of park boards and a number of changes in their funding possibilities and regulatory management regime are perceived by park users to contribute to genuine park improvement. Information was collected by means of a questionnaire survey in three outstanding parks in Greece. Research findings suggest that the perspectives of park users are increasingly aligned to the interests of park authorities as regards park management purposes. Park authorities’ achievements in relation to protection, management and administration were perceived as poor by the respondents in all parks. The conceptions of park users markedly reflect a situation whereby the role of the state in park administration is well anticipated and valued but visitors’ funding options are contrary to the spirit of the new law. Park users tend to reject the transfer of park administration to local authorities or private companies, recognising a continued need for both autonomy and government intervention away from direct state control. While the participants strongly recognised the importance of regulatory management in parks, the weak executive powers of park boards constitute a major administrative deficiency likely to threaten the ecological integrity of parks in the future. It is imperative that park boards acknowledge the current interaction between park users and park authorities. Otherwise, park administrators may find their task an increasingly difficult one.     

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) on cultivated and self-sown plants in Greece

The present work covers original information on aphids (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) from Greece during 1995–2005. The individual aphid taxa were collected from their host plants and identified. The plant taxa were classified in two major categories: cultivated and self-sown. The cultivated ones were classified as: herbaceous, climbing and trees. The selfsown ones were classified as: annual herbaceous, annual or biennial herbaceous, biennial or perennial herbaceous, perennial herbaceous, shrubby and trees Two hundred twelve plant taxa were identified on which 105 aphid taxa were recorded. We report 391 plant taxa-aphid taxa associations from which, 190 are referred to cultivated and 201 to self-shown plant taxa. Aphis gossypii was found to infest the widest spectrum of cultivated plant taxa whereas Brachycaudus helichrysi was found to infest the widest spectrum of self-sown plant taxa. Myzus persicae was found to infest the widest spectrum of the total number of plant taxa. Information for several economically unimportant aphid taxa in the area are also presented.     

The rediscovery of Biebersteinia orphanidis Boiss. (Geraniaceae) in Greece

Biebersteinia orphanidis was considered extinct from Greece and Europe as it had not been collected since Orphanides' type collection of 1851. Its rediscovery is reported here from a mountain close to the classical locality. The species serves as a distinct phytogeographical link between the floras of Greece and Anatolia. In Greece, at least, it grows in a critically low number of individuals. Data on the species habitat and population status are given, and potential threats to its survival are discussed.     

The use of a complex thermohygrometric index in predicting adverse health effects in Athens

Mortality and morbidity indices are known to depend on changes in meteorological conditions. In Athens, severe adverse health effects following extreme heat conditions have been reported. The usefulness has been investigated of the complex thermohygrometric index (THI), a simple index based on maximum daily temperature and relative humidity, in predicting the health effects of specific meteorological conditions. The values of THI were found to correlate well with more complex bioclimatic indices; the THI could successfully replace temperature and humidity in predicting the daily number of deaths through multiple linear regression modelling. Thus the introduction of THI levels more than 28.5° C and between 26.5 and 28.5° C, through dummy variables, in a regression model explained 40% of the variability in the number of deaths during the months of July and August. During days with THI values less than 26.5° C the mean number of deaths was 33.5, compared to 41.8 when THI was between 26.5 and 28.5° C. The daily number of deaths increased to 108.2 when THI exceeded 28.5° C. From this study, the exact level of THI at which public health measures must be taken was not clear and more work is needed to identify it. However, given its simplicity, the use of THI for predicting meteorological conditions which are adverse to health would appear to be promising in preventive medicine and in health services planning.     

Documented skeletal collections in Greece: Composition,research, and future prospects

Documented skeletal collections constitute a key resource in forensic anthropological and bioarchaeological research as they allow both the development of methods for the estimation of various parameters of an individual's biological profile, and the examination of the accuracy of existing methods in different skeletal assemblages. The acknowledgement of the utility of documented collections is attested by the large number of such collections across the world. The current review will focus on two modern reference collections in Greece, briefly presenting their composition, the research projects in which they have been employed, and future prospects for their use.     

Locked into security,keyed into modernity: The selection of burglaries as source of risk in Greece

Consensus among Greeks claims that the rates of burglaries and thefts have been increasing during the last ten years and that this constitutes a major social problem for which immigrants, and, especially Albanians, are responsible. This article theorizes that the selection of burglaries as source of risk deploys the understanding that the flip side of the increase in property crime is increased affluence and that both are part of modernization. The selection of houses as targets of aggression enables people, especially men, to construe themselves as protectors of houses objectifying the longstanding ideals of household management and as members of a modern society in which security is a matter of individual consumer choice. The portrayal of immigrants as destitute thieves reinforces the construct of the Greek nation state as a successful albeit vulnerable household writ-large.     

Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria lactamica in northern Greece

In response to an increase in the number of cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in northern regions of Greece, a survey was carried out to determine if there was an increase in carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, particularly in areas where there have been increases in immigrant populations from neighbouring countries. The second objective was to determine if there was an increase in the serogroup C:2a:P1.5,2 a phenotype associated with recent outbreaks or changes in antibiotic sensitivities. As carriage of Neisseria lactamica is associated with development of natural immunity to IMD, the third objective was to determine the carriage rate of N. lactamica in this population. Among 3167 individuals tested, meningococci were isolated from 334 (10.5%). Compared with our previous studies, the proportion of meningococcal carriers was significantly increased among children in secondary education (11.3%) (chi2=9.67, P<0.005) and military recruits (37.4%) (chi2=21.11, P<0.000). Only 5/334 (1.5%) isolates expressed the phenotype associated with the increase in IMD in Greece. N. lactamica was isolated from 146/3167 (4.6%) participants. It was isolated from 71/987 (7.2%) children attending primary or nursery schools; however, the highest proportion of carriers (11.3%) was found in the boarding school for young Albanian men. In the 21-59-year age range, the majority of N. lactamica isolates (22/25, 88%) were from women, probably due to closer or more prolonged contact with children in the primary school age range. Smoking was significantly associated with isolation of meningococci from men but not from women. Penicillin-insensitive strains (25/334, 7.5%) were identified in all four regions examined; the majority (14/25, 56%) were obtained from military personnel. We conclude that there was a higher proportion of carriers in the population of northern Greece; however, the increase in carriage rate was not associated with the influx of immigrants from neighbouring countries, and there was not a higher incidence of the C:2a:P1.5,2 strain responsible for increased disease activity in Greece in either the immigrant or local populations.     

The political culture of poaching: a case study from northern Greece

Poaching has deep social and cultural roots and its meanings are multi-layered. This article explores the meanings attached to the practice of illegal hunting and fishing around Lake Kerkini in northern Greece. Here poaching must be considered in the context of a disordered ecosystem, where the dominance of locally maligned fish and bird species results from economic and environmental policy designed to benefit distant farmers. We conclude that poaching cannot be understood only as an individual action, but as one where collective and personal identities are defended in the face of seemingly irrevocable economic and social decline. The discussion shows that poachers identify different kinds of poaching. Some of the most apparent forms of poaching, done by local inhabitants, may be less damaging than other commercially oriented forms, including by outsiders. Poaching is motivated through a complex mix of factors. Our data lead us to discuss two manifestations of poaching (a) poaching as a form of collective resistance; and (b) poaching as a violation of culturally valued types of human-nature interaction. Some people who admit undertaking what they perceive as least detrimental forms of poaching are antagonistic towards what they construe to be truly harmful forms. Such people appear willing to act and to support actions against types of poaching they agree to be threatening. This is a message with potential importance for environmental management strategy.     

Perceptual strain index for heat strain assessment in an experimental study: An application to construction workers

Although the physiological strain index (PhSI) is universal and comprehensive, its restrictions are recognized in terms of invasive on-site measurements and the requirement of accurate instruments. The perceptual strain index (PeSI) has been proposed as a user-friendly and practical indicator for heat strain. However, the application of this index in assessing the heat strain of construction workers has yet to be examined and documented. This study aims to ascertain the reliability and applicability of PeSI in an experimental setting that simulates a stressful working environment (i.e., environment, work uniform, and work pace) experienced by construction workers. Ten males and two females performed intermittent exercise on a treadmill while wearing a summer work uniform at 34.5 °C and 75% relative humidity in a climatic chamber. Physiological parameters (core temperature, heart rate) and perceptual variables (thermal sensation, perceived exertion) were collated synchronously at 3 min intervals. The results of two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (clothing×time) revealed that the PeSI was useful in differentiating the heat strain levels between different work uniforms. Not only did the PeSI change in the same general manner with the PhSI, but it was also powerful in reflecting different levels of physiological strain. Thus, the PeSI offers considerable promise for heat strain assessment under simulated working conditions.     

Limnological survey of the warm monomictic lake Trichonis (central western Greece); I. The physical and chemical environment

The physical and chemical status of Trichonis – the largestanddeepest natural lake in Greece – is examined over two annualcycles (1985–86 and 1988–89). A correlation between lakenutrientpatterns and phytoplankton biomass is attempted. Limnologicalfeatures are compared with data from other warm and temperatelakes.With regard to its thermal regime, Trichonis is classified asawarm monomictic lake. The lake's stratification pattern andannualheat budget resemble those of other temperate lakes. Trichonisisa carbonate type, low conductivity lake (class II, lowsalinitywarm lake). Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were ratherlow.The inorganic nitrogen content fluctuated widely over the twoannual cycles examined. On the contrary, phosphorusconcentrationsshowed no significant changes. The limiting factor during1985–86was P, while N was limiting during stratification in 1988–89.Aweak correlation was found between the plankton communityfeatures(species abundance, biomass, chlorophyll-a) and lightpenetration. At present the eutrophication process fromoligotrophytowards mesotrophy has not been essentiallyaccelerated.     

Species diversity,endemism and conservation of the family Caryophyllaceae in Greece

The family Caryophyllaceae includes world-wide 86 genera and approximately 2100 species. Greece is one of its most important centres of diversity and endemism. A total of 428 Caryophyllaceae taxa are distributed in Greece, 161 of them being endemic to the Greek political territory. The endemic element represents approximately 5% of the global diversity of the family at the species level. The aim of this paper is to discuss the distribution patterns of the Greek endemic Caryophyllaceae, as well as those with a limited distribution range to the neighbouring areas of the Balkans and Anatolia, on the basis of the phytogeographical regions of Greece in order to identify the important regions for their conservation. The majority of the Greek endemic Caryophyllaceae (64.6%) are distributed in only one single phytogeographical region, or even a smaller area indicating the extremely restricted distribution ranges of the endemic plants in Greece. Actually 83 Greek endemic Caryophyllaceae can be grouped on cytotaxonomic criteria. Most of them belong to the category of schizoendemics (91.6%), indicating that the endemism of Caryophyllaceae in Greece has mainly originated in an active way. Cluster analysis has been used to classify the phytogeographical regions according to their floristic similarities. Two iterative complementarity methods were used to evaluate the importance of each phytogeographical region in the conservation of the endemic Caryophyllaceae in Greece. Peloponnisos, Kriti-Karpathos and Sterea Ellas are the most important phytogeographical regions in this respect, followed by North Central and North East. When adding the Balkan-Aegean-Anatolian endemics to the analysis, Peloponnisos, North Central, Kriti-Karpathos, North East and Eastern Aegean result as the most important areas. In every case, an elevated number of sites are required for the conservation of Caryophyllaceae in Greece, reflecting the great dissimilarities in the floristic composition of the various phytogeographical regions. The results provided by the different methods are compared. A catalogue of the Greek endemic Caryophyllaceae is appended.